The Legend of Zelda: Phantoms of Echoes
by Mystic Deity
Summary: Someone wants Gannondorf back in Hyrule after TOot and the premonitions start again...
1. Prologue

Author's notes: First fanfic, gimme a break, gimme a kit kat bar and enjoy the show... because as long as there is one lone fan out there.. I'll continue this story. And trust me, if my imagination goes as far as I think it is, it's gonna continue for quite a while.  
  
Time Setting: Prologue is set at the party held after OOT (while Link is still 17), chapter 1 will start right after Majora's mask (can anyone say disgrace?).   
  
Prologue: Forgetting the past  
  
Multicolored flashing lights and cheerful music filled the air as Lon lon ranch's party continued well past midnight. During this small time of peace and happiness, all of the species gathered together to celebrate the banishing of the dark king of the Gerudos.   
  
The Kokiri and skull kids, who were allowed one night to celebrate with their fellow citizens of Hyrule, contributed all of the music and used their knowledge to keep the bon fire lit but they had their fun too in leading the other species in many dances. Hylians from all over the land made sure to honor their friends and counterparts alike as they all joined together for dances. The Gorons did nothing more than dance the night away and create slight misfortunes for those who danced around them. Strangely enough, the rock-hard creatures would only dance during one song, one which was requested over 15 times already. The Zoras and the Gerudo's both helped out in providing food and drinks for the population, authorized by King Zora himself.   
  
From all the happiness that lifted the spirits of those who perished, there were still some whose spirit could not be brought up. King Zora spent the whole night looking up at the sky, waiting for that blue spark of light that had flown over their party so many hours ago. He was pretty sure... no he was positive that THAT was his daughter, Princess Ruto of the Zoras. Seeing his daughter one last time would mean the world to him and so much more.   
  
Then there was the small red-headed boy beside him, wallowing in his own self-pity as well. The boy, Mido, the leader of the Kokiri, had lost everything in 7 short years. He lost his first crush, the respect of his fellow Kokiri, and even his position as their leader. Through his hardships, he blamed one person, Link. But as Saria's song began to play for the 10th time, his sadness subsided momentarily.  
  
Others had secret wishes as well and all of them involved the ones they would never see again. Darunia's son, Malon, even the King of Hyrule was in attendance and sulking about. The once jolly old man kept his face in the desert table and his back to the celebrations. All of them felt as if no once else understood the pain they were going through, but in fact every did. The people there did not celebrate Hyrule's freedom from Gannondorf's tyranny but they celebrated the heroes they knew saved the day.   
  
As they continued to ponder these facts, the whole party stopped. The only sounds that could be heard was a drop of a pin and the screaming of a horse. The horse galloped through the gates of Lon Lon Ranch until it reached a sole figure in a green, Kokiri tunic. His gold plated gauntlets glowed from the pale moonlight, but his facial features could not be seen. The horse approached him slowly and bowed it's head, as if motioning for the person to get on. But instead, he kept on walking towards the party, grinning widely as he knew he was keeping everyone else in suspense. With an ocarina glimmering in his hand and a horse beside him, the figure made his way to the party.  
  
  
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There she was...  
  
The most beautiful women in Hyrule, the girl every guy wishes he could lay eyes on once, and yet the most respected one of them all, staring right at him. The hero of time could hardly believe his eyes. Even in the dim, cloud silhouetted, morning sky from which they stood, she looked as though she were glowing brighter than the very Triforce. But he wasn't lucky for this chance, he earned it. Losing his childhood, his friends, and watching helplessly as people he cared for were killed or beaten... yes he deserved this more than anything in the world.   
  
Slightly weary from battle and clenching the bright blue royal treasure that had caused so much trouble, he looked into her eyes. He wasn't looking for an answer or even a question to be asked. All the hero of time wanted was to hear her speak.   
  
She, too, thought herself to deserve this chance. To be alone with the hero of time. The legendary man who would fulfill her dreams and the legends by becoming her king. The only problem was... it would be wrong for her to deprive him of the chance to relive the childhood she stole from him. She was the one who brought him into this mess and now she would pay the ultimate consequence.   
  
"Hero of time...." She started slowly, "please, return the ocarina to me."  
  
"Zelda... I..." Link swallowed hard and clenched the object tighter, "not yet."  
  
"Not yet? I do not believe you understand, Link..." Zelda did not want to argue now. She loved him, truly and deeply to her very soul, but this was not right. It was her responsibility, her duty as the seventh sage of Hyrule, to return everything to its former place. To redo all that she had done to her own land. "I must return you to your real home... your real time... the way you should live... the way should be living!"  
  
He slowly backed away from her, the ocarina glowing in his hands now.   
  
"I want to say goodbye to the friends I have made," Link lowered his head, remembering all of them, "Malon, Talon, the cucco lady, Ingo, Dampe, even Mido! I want to see them all one last time... before... before..."  
  
"Before they forget who you are."  
  
"You can have the stupid ocarina back if you want," Link showed it to her, "It has caused plenty of trouble for me and I'm sure it's the main reason you brought me here anyways!"  
  
"No... Link, I don't need it until you are ready to return to your true time," Zelda backed away slightly, not wanting to accidentally take it back so soon.  
  
The Princess didn't understand completely now, but being who she was, she could never fully. During his travels, his mind wasn't just on saving Hyrule, but the saving the people. And now, having so many as friends, he wanted them to see him as they remembered him. Her mind began to wonder towards the party she saw before coming here and the look on the sages' faces as they watched their friends and family rejoice. For once, it didn't matter how she felt about the situation or what would happen if she granted his request. She was doing this for him; after all, he deserved it. Clasping her hands together and bowing her head, Zelda began to chant in an ancient language. Her body, as Link's, was enveloped in a light blue aura.   
  
A strange ambition coming over him, Link shook his head from the light's 'floaty' feeling and just before Link could feel his body becoming light, he ran to her and separated her hands.  
  
"Wait Princess! I have one more request..." Link looked up into her eyes, still holding on to her hands.  
  
"Link?"  
  
"I want to see everyone at the party... everyone."  
  
"But Link everyone is there!"  
  
Link shook his head and narrowed his eyes, a small smile coming to his face as he remembered them. The handless, wise man whom introduced him into his new time; a hyperactive, emotional Goron; an obsessed, selfish, but caring Zora; the intelligent, soft-spoken Sheikan; the desert leader who always looked at him like a kid; and of course his best friend from his childhood, the one he cared about the most.   
  
"Please Princess, let me see them all one more time," Link pleaded, "before they forget who I am."  
  
They... and that was it. It was too much of a request now! The law of the sages directly stated that the sages shall have no contact with the ones they protect. All except the leader shall protect their temples and areas forever. If the law is broken, the land will have it's revenge and the leader will be punished.   
  
"You have no idea how much it would mean to me to see them again," Link looked downwards, "To see Saria, Darunia, and even Ruto would be the greatest thing in the world!"  
  
The princess gazed into Link's eyes again, looking for some small doubt that he didn't want to see them. Something she could play on and hopefully change his mind. But there was nothing there and he was waiting for her response. As her gaze turned upwards, her mind began a true battle that put responsibility versus... love maybe?  
  
"Alright Link..." Zelda gulped and nodded slowly, "I will transport you to the entrance of the Lon Lon ranch, then I will find the sages and bring them there."  
  
Excitement flowing through his veins, Link pounced on Zelda and hugged her tightly. Both fell to the ground as Link laughed heartily at their current predicament.   
  
Eyes wide, the princess of destiny just laid there, looking up at the handsome man who stole her heart again. To her body and her mind at its current condition, she made the right choice. The consequences of what she was about to do melted away as Link's face came closer to her own. In one hug, the princess could no longer control her body. She was paralyzed to the ground by the hero of time.   
  
"Link... I... need to tell you something..." Zelda whispered.  
  
"Princess?" Link just smiled at her, "I'll do whatever you want..."  
  
When their eyes finally met, Link stopped laughing and realized where he had put himself. He wanted to pull away, he wanted to pull away so badly, but as her face crept closer towards his, this became impossible. Unable to control his body as well, the hero of time wrapped his arms closer around the waist of the princess. Closing his eyes and waiting for the inevitable, he tilted his head to the right slightly and sighed. Their lips met slowly and gently. The first actual kiss of his life, shared with the most beautiful Hylian in the world.   
  
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The princess of the Zoras yawned and leaned back against the solid boulder behind her. It was now hitting the four hour mark that the five were just sitting there, watching the party as it continued. She wanted to go and see all of her friends and her father again. Just by looking at the others, she could tell they wanted to see their loved ones just as much, maybe even more. Darunia, for instance, had that proud father look in his eyes. His son, Link, was down there celebrating their victory with his fellow Gorons.  
  
All of them were getting tired, but knowing that they would never get to see their loved ones again, they all stayed. The law of the sages according to the Hyrule legends books stated that those who were granted the power to protect the land of Hyrule must remain in solitude to be prepared for anything. Even though they defeated Gannondorf, the law still took effect and disobeying the laws created by the Goddesses meant certain doom for all of Hyrule, not just them. The sages all envied Zelda the most, because the law never applied to the seventh sage. Throughout the eras, the seventh sage has secretly always been a member of the royal family and therefore had to be in the public eye, no matter what.  
  
Ruto stood up shakily and plopped down next to Nabooru, who watched with a mischievous glimmer in her eye. The two surprisingly had much in common and got along pretty well for the past while. After the first 2 hours faded away, though, the nonchalant chatter tapered into an awkward, nerve-ending silence. She never was, and never would be a quiet, sulking person. So as her rebellious nature kicked in, she stood up and stomped her foot down.  
  
"This is horrible!" She raved... for the tenth time in 2 hours, "I don't wanna be stuck up here forever! I wanna go down and have fun!"  
  
"You know we cannot, Ruto," Impa calmly replied. She usually was the only one that would reply.  
  
"Do you two have to say that every 5 minutes?" Nabooru yelled out, standing up, "You're driving me crazy and if ya don't mind, I don't wanna be responsible for waking up the little kid there!"  
  
"You all are being too loud," Darunia whispered, protectively, "now sit down and be quiet!"  
  
Darunia gasped slightly as Saria began to unconsciously adjust her position in her sleep. Moving to keep her on his back, he glared at the three that might have caused it. Carefully, he took his hand and slowly moved her head against his furry shoulder, rocking his body back and forth to keep her from waking up. With pure pride beaming from his eyes like a father, Darunia glared down the girls until they all silenced and sat back down in their respective places.  
  
"I think we all should leave now," Rauru stepped up, his handless sleeves positioned behind his back, "Surely there is not much else we can do about the situation and if the night continues the four of you will end up waking the little one, who should probably be going to bed as it is."  
  
Nabooru and Ruto nodded sadly. The wise sage was always right; maybe he should have received the Triforce of Wisdom. As they both began to get up, a bright, light blue spark erupted behind them, causing them to turn their heads immediately.  
  
"Well you're going to have to wake her up anyways if you want to join the party..." A feminine voice came up from behind them. There, on the ledge of the summit, sat Princess Zelda. A childish glimmer in her eyes, she pointed to the party and smiled, "I think you all deserve it..."  
  
The sage of fire's suddenly shift in position stirred the young Kokiri on his back to force her out of her peaceful slumber. Slowly, she opened one eye half way and looked at the nature of the disturbance. Forgetting all duties, manners, and ranks in her sleep-filled mind, Saria tilted her head and spoke softly.  
  
"Huh? When'd you get here, Miss Zelda?"  
  
"Just about a minute ago."  
  
"Oh... tee hee hee hee... sorry Miss Zelda, I guess I kinda dozed off..."  
  
Zelda nodded and turned her attention to Impa, who was staring her down like an enemy. She knew that Impa knew almost as much as she did about the legends of Hyrule. In fact, her fellow Sheikans wrote most of the legends based on past experiences guarding the royal family.  
  
"Zelda... you can't allow this! We'll break the sacred laws!" Impa glared at Zelda, crossing her arms, "I certainly don't want to face the consequences for this, and I know you don't."  
  
Zelda shook her head and explained the whole situation. How Link wanted to see them all. How time would be reversed anyways and they would all be reverted back to 7 years ago. The situation seemed to correct itself in time. Zelda tried to persuade herself of this as well, but in her heart she knew it wasn't true. In a matter of minutes, her tentative voice and fierce eyes took their toll on the sages and they succumbed to Zelda's wishes, except for Impa.  
  
"Princess, I will not or ever condone what you are doing!" Impa shouted, "You cannot do this just because Link wants to see us!"  
  
"But Impa, he saved all of Hyrule, doesn't he deserve this before we all forget him?" Ruto turned around, acting disappointed, "Everything will be alright, Impa, it will."  
  
"Your teenage ambitions cloud both your minds," Impa shook her head, "are your feelings for the hero of time stronger than your sense of duty to our land? To the goddesses?"  
  
Everyone's head went straight to the ground as they rethought out their decision. No one but Zelda and Impa actually knew the legends well enough to now how great of a risk they would be putting on themselves and the land of Hyrule.   
  
"He would never come first to the Goddesses... but I choose Link over my sage-hood, I know that much,"   
  
A few minutes later, 6 figures appeared behind Link and the horse. Everyone was now up and waiting for the arrival of the heroes of Hyrule. Heroes they would never remember, nor see again. At least... not in this time.   
  
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Next up:   
Chapter I: Who wants to be a happy mask salesman?  
Link is revisited by his old friend from Termina before he stops his journey and attempts to return to the Kokiri Village to live out his childhood, but not before Zelda has any say in it. She wants her ocarina of time back... and maybe something more. 


	2. Chapter I

Remember, this is after Majora's mask now and since the Oracle series isn't on a system that I can play (no game boy for me!), I've ignored that series for this story   
-^_^.  
  
  
  
Chapter I: Who wants to be a Mask Salesman?  
  
With a yawn and then a grunt as he began to stretch out, Link arose from his sleeping bag to find it was still nighttime. It wasn't that he had a nightmare, but he just couldn't sleep. Perhaps it was an effect from the species masks he still had or just the wild adventure he had just a day ago. Staring at the carved picture of a skull kid and two fairies on a stump, he couldn't help but giggle slightly because Epona was right beside him, snoring as she slept quietly.   
  
The stillness of the night was suddenly disrupted when a bush began to move behind Link. Jumping up, he unsheathed his sword. But... it wasn't the sword that he left Termina with? As he forgot the moving bush for a moment, he looked down to find the original Kokiri sword in his hands. The one he still meant to give back to the Kokiri children.  
  
A weird, yet familiar laugh came from the bush and Link was back at attention. Kokiri or Gilded sword, it didn't matter. Anyone who had the guts to sneak up on the hero of time wasn't going to get away with it. But as the figure became completely familiar, the Kokiri sword simply fell from Link's 10-year-old hands. He waddled over to Link, his heavy bag restricting his movement.  
  
"Ah... the young man from Termina!" He bellowed, "I have another proposition for you!"  
  
"The Happy Mask Salesman... don't you have a shop to run or something?" Link shouted back, "I think you've caused enough trouble for me!"  
  
"No! No! No! No trouble! No fighting! No action! No work at all!" He calmly continued as his waddle until turned into a full out, physically impossible, skip.  
  
Link picked up his sword and unsheathed it, but stayed close to the bag of masks he acquired from Termina. Somehow, he had a feeling that the salesman wanted those for himself.  
  
"How would you like to become much rich?" The salesman smiled wryly, "Rich as say... the one who is on your mind now?"  
  
How did he know I was... Link thought to himself, but then stopped once he looked in his other hand. The ocarina of time was there, glowing. He didn't know how it got in his hand and now all he could think about was the Princess and how she gave it to him.   
  
"How?" was all Link could say. The thought of being THAT rich was farfetched for a Hylian boy deep in the Kokiri forest. But if anyone could pull out that much cash, it had to be the weird Happy Mask Salesman.   
  
"You keep one mask to remember your entire adventure with," he told him, "And I give you this."  
  
He pulled out a giant's wallet. That was it... a giant's wallet?  
  
"Don't make me laugh, mister, the royal family has a lot more than 500 rupees I'm sure!" Link laughed out.  
  
"Unlimited wallet, young hero," the salesman grinned. He put his hand in the wallet slowly and pulled out a gold rupee and tossed it to Link, signifying it's real. "Since a giant wallet only holds 500, there shouldn't be anymore, right?"  
  
"Well. Yeah..."  
  
"Bingo!" The salesman yelled out as he pulled out another gold rupee. Link jaw nearly dropped to the ground as he caught the second gold rupee. "No trickery, but you can no do until I get my mask. Now choose the one you shall keep!"  
  
"But I haven't even agreed yet!"  
  
"Pick up your jaw, then decide," he nodded, "I have not all the time in the world, hero."  
  
"But that money has to be coming from somewhere," Link said, "so now tell me where it is coming from!"  
  
"The wallet is actually creating the money itself," the salesman nodded again, "created by the scientist Profellor of Lake Hylia."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"I do not have all day! Masks to sell, people to deal with!"  
  
Five minutes and a lot of deciding later, the Salesman walked out of the forest clearing, hopefully forever, Link thought. He had given up all of the masks except the one he obtained from the Moon Children, the Fierce Deity's mask. He hadn't tried to use it yet, and he really didn't want to. The Ion form he transformed himself into left a foreboding thought on his mind. Was the mask evil or just a counter-mask for Majora's mask?  
  
The salesman stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Link quickly.  
  
"Before I leave... You might want to know about your fairy friend, no?"  
  
"Navi?!" Link ran up to face the salesman, "What do you know about Navi? Is she alright? Where is she?"  
  
"Your fairy friend is very safe, with friend of mine in fact!" he giggled, then turned around, "Leave her to her own adventure, you shall meet up soon enough!"  
  
"We'll meet up soon en.... Wait a minute, what does that mean?"  
  
"You'll have to see for yourself... young hero of time... tee hee hee hee..." his laughter echoed as his body suddenly disappeared in the shadows of the tall trees. Link gasped as he caught one mask that fell from his pack as he faded. He picked up the mask and looked on the back, where a little note was...  
  
Hero of Termina...  
  
I cannot assure your decision of your choice of mask to be true... but none the less, I will give you a little more warning of what's to come.   
  
Love will come... but in the place you might least and most expect. Your wish of 7 years into the future shall came true but at a dark, green faced price. A guard and a creation you shall meet. Do not deny them their feast of an adventure! And finally... you will have to choose between Hyrule and the one you cannot let go... please make the right choice. Remember the head female... four does not equal one but one is stronger than 4.  
  
The mask here is very special to me... I call it the "Dimension Mask". Those from Termina still remember you very much. You might want to visit them later, just to say hi.  
  
  
Link looked at the mask carefully. All it was, was a blank mirror that didn't even show his reflection. He shrugged it off and tossed it into a pack with some other items he gained in Termina. His hookshot, the bow and a couple of arrows left over, 3 bombs, and a couple of magic beans he kept over. Whoever that salesman was that sold them to him, he was right. Those beans were really good as snacks! As he looked at the bag, he noticed the ocarina glowing yet again. Epona was strangely still asleep and he wasn't going back into dreamland... so he figured playing a little music wouldn't wake up the exhausted horse. Taking out the legendary ocarina of time, the hero of time just hoped that playing one song would bring back the Princess of Destiny into his mind...  
  
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Where... am I?   
  
Link groggily thought to himself as he sat up. He didn't remember falling asleep... all he remembered was playing Zelda's Lullaby on the ocarina of time. That had to be it! But then... why wasn't he back in the forest with his snoring companion?   
  
The hero of time jumped to his feet. As he stood up, a small clatter could be heard right below him. The ocarina of time... it was still with him? Pondering this, he didn't even notice that the area was that of a blue, cloudy sky. Just like the one he met Zelda in before.  
  
"Then you know I'm here too, right?" a soft voice spoke from beyond the horizon of the never-ending sky, "Here, in this place, we can read each other's thoughts. It's... just the two of us."  
  
The voice giggled in Link's mind as he started off towards the voice, but stopped when he realized that everything was all in his mind, nothing more.  
  
"I'm guessing you want this back now... right, Princess?"  
  
"That is not all you know... I... tee hee hee," Zelda couldn't stop herself from giggling. As much as her experienced mind wanted to keep serious, her childish 10-year-old mind wouldn't let her. "You know I like you Link... a lot."  
  
"You like me...?"  
  
Her delicate, pale-skinned figure appeared before Link, smiling genuinely. The smile, the hair, the dress, it was all the same as the first time he met her. Though, he was pretty much the same as well. And now the one he cared about during his adventure was actually admitting feelings for her? After all she had done to him and Hyrule? The princess discarded him as nothing, kept him in the dark about everything and now expects him to tell her he likes her? His mind wandered as little flashes of the future came to his mind. Her father would never accept him since he was just a little, technically poor Hylian. She was a grand princess who deserved so much more.   
  
She nodded slowly and got up a little closer to him. Soon, they were just as closer as they were during the last time the two were here. But... Link backed away and held up the ocarina of time.  
  
"You know this isn't right, Princess." Link shook his head, "I like you too... but not THAT way."  
  
"What...?"  
  
"It wasn't right for me to kiss you Princess...."  
  
"But Link!"  
  
"Please take this back now... permanently," Link clenched the ocarina once more before he tossed the ocarina in the air towards her so she'd be forced to catch it. But it just clattered to the ground instead. Unfortunately, so did a couple of tears from Zelda's face.   
  
She couldn't believe it. How could a common Hylian reject HER? The princess of Hyrule? Slowly, she bent down and picked up the ocarina and tried dearly to smile at him. Despite the jealously she felt in her heart, she knew he was right. Getting upset wasn't going to help anything. Her experienced mind kicked in and everything else flowed easily.  
  
"You're right, it wasn't right for us to kiss, huh?" The Princess nodded again, wiping away her tears quickly, "it was a total mistake."  
  
Links eyes widened as she said that. Although he was glad she was thinking along the same lines as him, was it a total mistake. Could she be so heartless to reject any type of emotion as a mistake so easily? Perhaps she was just upset. That was it... it had to be. No kiss is a true mistake in life. It always means something.  
  
"I will transport you back to the Sacred Forest Meadow so that you can live amongst the kids again like you did before," Zelda tried to smile at him, "Relax and enjoy life, you deserve it."  
  
"I... I will Princess," Link sounded slightly depressed, not believing himself that he just rejected a Princess, "and thank you for everything."  
  
The ocarina of time produced a smooth, moving melody that created a green aura around Link. As Zelda played the minuet of the forest, he began to feel his every being return to place he called home. He'd return to his true childhood place and start over again. A little wiser, more cunning, and a whole lot stronger. Mido didn't stand a chance now.   
  
"But... what about Epona," Link panicked, "I can't leave her in the forest forever!"  
  
"Epona shall return to the place she calls home as well," Zelda's voice echoed through his mind, "Keep a close eye on the Great Deku tree and Saria for me!"  
  
The world around him faded as the green light completely enveloped him. The place he called home and the road to a normal, Kokiri childhood was only a few seconds away. The only thing he had to figure out now was how was he going to tell the Great Deku Tree about Navi and how he was going to explain his absence to the other Kokiri.   
  
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"Zelda... Princess of Destiny..." 3 soft female voices echoed through her mind just as she was about to leave. The 3 Goddesses of Hyrule, Din, Farore, and Nayru, appeared before her. None of them were smiling at all. In fact, Din had a slight scowl on her face.  
  
"My Goddesses..." Zelda knelt before them and bowed her head. She knew deep in her heart why they had approached her. It was time for her to receive her punishment for the law she broke 7 years in the future.  
  
"No one is above the law, even the leader of the sages, Princess," Din started, taking a step forward from the others, "and now you shall pay for your actions."  
  
"Hyrule's peace and prosperity will end soon," Nayru stepped up as Din backed away, "in the form of 5 which we will allow to enter Hyrule."   
  
"One who you know, and 4 you will not want to meet," Farore ended, "now stand and take responsibility for your actions!"  
  
Zelda stood up shakily, her experienced mind keeping her from bursting out.  
  
"It was predestined that you receive that piece of the Triforce, so we cannot take it away," Din started again, "So instead we will take away your leadership of the sages."  
  
"W... what?"  
  
"The legend of the sages is indeed wrong," Farore nodded, "There are only 7, but the sage of life is the true leader."  
  
"Who is the sage of life?"  
  
"That you will find out soon, but if you don't find out soon enough, Hyrule might be doomed to evil rule."  
  
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Author's notes: Yeah that's it. Link's back in the Kokiri forest and Zelda's confronting one problem after another.   
Next chapter, Chapter II: The Storm. It's Mido's birthday! And the first of several repercussions of Zelda's mistake take place. 


	3. Chapter II

Yep... me again. Just wanted to remind you all to R&R! I'll love each and everyone one of you forever if you do! Yeah... I know its not much of a prize...  
  
- ^_^  
  
Chapter II: The Storm  
  
The Kokiri forest was in full celebration. Today they would celebrate the birthday of their beloved, courageous leader, Mido. Okay... so he's not that great, but its still free food right? Of course it's not his real birthday. Each Kokiri was assigned a birthday by the Great Deku Tree, because it would be chaotic to have a village of 10-year-olds celebrating their birthday on the same day, as they were truly born. But this ended up causing more problems than the Deku Tree will admit. Instead of one huge birthday party, he ended up with a multitude of them.   
  
It was exactly 5 days since Link's return to the Kokiri forest now. After a brief, false explanation from the Great Deku Tree to the Kokiri of Link's disappearance, everything returned to normal for him. No one thought anything of his reasons for leaving for a short while, except for Saria. The lovely Kokiri girl wouldn't give up at all. She could tell when her best friend and her father were both lying to her. But if he had a good reason for hiding the truth, Saria wouldn't push the issue. She knew much better than to do that.   
  
Saria... she had been the only true one to treat him nicely, ever. She was the only one who believed in him from the start and who would always stick by him until the end. But lately, once he came back, she became so much more. The hero of time started to realize just how much she meant to him. His feelings began to deepen as he spent more time with her. The princess became forgotten and for once it seemed that he would be able to live his life the way he should have.  
  
Once the moon hit the starlit sky, the party really started. The skull kid ocarina group, led by Saria, provided the music while the kids danced around a multi-colored bonfire. When the slower songs started to play, Mido had his choice of any girl to dance with. But even with that, he still wasn't satisfied. The one girl he wanted wasn't even dancing. He tried to ask her many times, but she simply wouldn't dance at all while they were playing music for the children.   
  
That is... until the band took a break. Mido knew it was his chance to sneak in and get a dance in with the girl of his dreams. He started to run over to her but was immediately stopped by HIM. The fairy-less wonder stepped right in front of him and was talking to HIS girl!  
  
"Hey Saria, you've really taught them a lot," Link shyly scratched the back of his head, smiling at her, "You've done a really wonderful job."  
  
"Tee hee hee... Thank you Link!" Saria proudly beamed and nodded, "Maybe I could teach you sometime how to play?"  
  
Link's eyes lit up. That was it. That was how he would impress his best friend and get her mind off of the false lies he knew she was still thinking about. He already knew her song; all he had to do was play it.  
  
"Actually I can play just based on listening," Link held his hand out, "can I show you?"  
  
Saria nodded and handed him her fairy ocarina. Just what did that boy have up his sleeve now, she wondered. Her thinking took a definite halt, though, when he slowly began playing the song she taught him during his first adventure. Of course, she didn't know this, but he grinned while playing just thinking of the time she taught him and how bad he really was at first. After all, it took him 20 tries just to get the song right!   
  
Once he was finished with the song, he had every Kokiri girl gazing dreamily at him. That included the girl he meant to impress in the first place. Saria smiled sweetly and grabbed his other hand.   
  
"Come on, master ocarina player!" Saria pulled him towards the dance floor, past Mido, and nodded to the Skull kid band, "My song is my property, which means you have to pay me for you playing it without my permission!"  
  
"How... how much do I have to pay you?" Link said with a mischievous grin.  
  
"Not SO fast, Mr. No Fairy!" Mido screamed out, coming between the two, "It's MY birthday party and I've been waiting all night for her to take a break so I could ask her to dance!"  
  
Mido crossed his arms and stood in front of Link, trying to intimidate him. But this time, it wasn't working at all. Link calmly stood there and kept his eyes on the prize, the beautiful Kokiri girl behind Mido. As soon as he was going to respond to Mido, though, Saria pushed in between them and glared at both.  
  
"Now, now guys this is nothing to fight over!" Saria turned to Mido, "I will dance with you after I'm finished with Link, alright?"  
  
"But Saria, I thought I was the birthday boy and I should get whatever I want!" Mido shouted at her, "I shouldn't be second best to Mr. No fairy!"  
  
"Don't you even scream at her like that again, Mido..." Link grabbed Mido's shoulder tightly and turned him around until they were face to face. Narrowing his eyes at the young Kokiri leader, his grip increased. Link remembered the glare Gannondorf gave him many times and tried to use to his advantage. "It is her decision and its that decision that is final. And for the first and last time... my name is Link, got it?"  
  
"Y...y...y...y...es, Link..." Mido rubbed his shoulder at Link let go slowly and ran off towards his house.  
  
Saria looked at him quizzically. She never knew her best friend to actually stand up for himself. Usually she had to do it in front of Mido. Those few days that she didn't him changed him somehow, she just didn't know how much.  
  
"Hmm... now then, I'll go easy on you," she nodded twice to the band and pulled him in front of her. By now, Link had already dropped her ocarina on the ground a few feet behind them. "How about a dance since you defended yourself so well against Mido?"  
  
"Um... it was nothing, really!" Link blushed.  
  
Link didn't even have time to say yes. As he was about to answer, the ocarinas piped up again and a slow, romantic version of Zelda's Lullaby. Just like seven years into the future, Link could no longer control his body again. His arms draped themselves around her waist as hers held on to his neck. The same feeling he had around Zelda... did it already fade so quickly? Or transfer onto his best friend? He didn't know and it didn't help that he couldn't think straight. His cares seemed to melt away once he gazed into Saria's sapphire orbs.   
  
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Lake Hylia is known as the most peaceful place in all of Hyrule. Everyday countless people come to relax, go fishing in the famous fishing hole, visit the unusual laboratory, and of course take a swim. But lately the lake had been much different. Due to several occurrences lately, the lake has been sealed off to all except the Zoras. Nothing seemed to stop the Zoras from coming to their favorite place.  
  
"Daddy! Daddy! Come here quickly!" A young Zora's voice rang out through Lake Hylia. As fast as her little fish legs could take her, she was swimming back to shore. But behind her... a dark figure was catching up at an unbelievable speed. Closer and closer it began to come.   
  
"Huh? Honey!" The father knew he couldn't go into the water because he would risk both their lives. Instead he just prayed silently to himself that she was fast enough to outrace the monster that was approaching her.  
  
Was it a monster though, he thought? As she got up to standing onto the muddy banks, she noticed that whatever followed her dropped back into the lake. A relieved father came up and hugged his daughter tightly.  
  
"You're a really good swimmer, honey! Did you kn..." the father didn't get the chance to finish his praise. "N...n...n... run..."  
  
She looked up slowly to see why her father was stuttering, but when she looked up, all she saw was a metal point. The point was sticking through her father's chest.   
  
"D... daddy?"  
  
"Plea...se.... r...r...run..." he managed to get out those last words before the metal point was slid back from his chest. Light blue blood began to drip from it as the sword's master held it up to the sun. The body of the now dead Zora fell limply to the ground and landed with a dull thud.  
  
The sword's master... was just a Stalfos. A skeleton without a heart, a brain, or a soul. But this one seemed to be intelligent enough to use the sword more sufficiently. Not to mention the ability to sneak attack. The Stalfos held its sword up in a defensive position and smiled at the young girl. The girl, though, was already backing away into the water. She stopped abruptly when she hit something hard. Not hard enough to be a wall... but hard enough to be another person...  
  
"Hello there... little one," A dark voice chuckled, "Aw... did that man try to help you?"  
  
"He... he... he... is my father!" she proudly cried out. The brave young girl knew that the man behind her was helping her father's slayer. She couldn't get away now.  
  
"Well was your father anyways," he laughed, "Of course, you're just a 'was' too..."  
  
"But I'm still al..."  
  
It was too late. Before she could say another word, a sharp metallic dagger appeared right in front of her face, impaled into her heart. Gasping sharply, her legs gave way beneath her. As her breath faded away, the last thing she was his body, another skeleton. Just another Skeleton... as it was thrown to the muddy shores by an arrow.  
  
"Damn!" the man yelled out as he pulled another arrow from his quiver, "What are you guys anyway? This is the third time this week..."  
  
"We answer to no one but the lord!" The skeleton pulled an arrow out of his back and snapped it in to. The arrow itself actually had red blood on it, as if he was wounded.  
  
The two Stalfos ran as fast as they could towards the Lakeside Laboratory, but the young male Zora was catching up very fast. They disappeared behind the back of the building and then they were gone. The male Zora stopped in his tracks and turned around. Two of his people were dead and one was even a child! He had to get to King Zora so that he could declare this place unsafe until further notice.   
  
Deep forests surrounded Lake Hylia, which is why every Zora took a shortcut to get there. The forests were protected by an ancient spell that transformed normal mortals into Stalfos, but those skeletons created were confined to the forest for their whole life. The spell, somehow, was getting weaker. But they had attacked no other part of Hyrule yet.   
  
The young male Zora, once a master bodyguard's apprentice, had been one of only few to see these skeletons in action. They came in mystery and escaped the same way. Already in Zora's domain there have been 10 deaths, all by fatal sword wounds. Well... 12 now.   
  
The apprentice, who went by the name of Kasuto, was under very strict orders now. His mission: to search and destroy the creatures and avenge their first victim, his master. And he wasn't like any other Zora. He was a crossbreed between another Zora-like creature from the neighboring kingdom, Lolaw, and his father from Hyrule. His skin was pure indigo and his fins were much sharper than a normal Zoras. Kasuto was only 12 and already he was taking a lot of responsibility. As a younger child he cut many people, even the princess herself. The princess of the Zoras... he shuddered every time he thought of that selfish, stuck up girl. Even though everyone rejected him for being different, that girl did nothing more that chase him around like an obsessed fan-girl hunting down Blink 182.   
  
His shoulders cringed as her squeaky, annoying voice came into the air, causing every living thing around to run. Why did she have to follow him and most of all, why him anyways?  
  
"KKKKASSSSUTTTOO!!!!" The Princess cried out, "How could you leave me behind at the domain!"  
  
"I didn't leave you behind... I tied you to a chair behind the waterfall," Kasuto mumbled to himself, turn around and bowing to the princess, "your majesty... please forgive me."  
  
She offered her hand to the kneeling bodyguard and smiled.  
  
"Kiss it and rise up, Kasuto..." Ruto grinned, "I must say that you are looking quite... oh my god..." She stopped admiring him for a moment when her eyes drifted behind him, where the two bodies lay. Her mind turned away from him and to the bodies. "Kasuto... is that... is that... Schala...?"  
  
Watching her body waver slightly, Kasuto sighed. This would also be the third time THIS happened. She follows him to Lake Hylia, and then faints over the blood from anyone killed. He strictly told the King to make sure she didn't follow, but not even her father could control her. She was a wild spirit... who would one day rule the waters of Hyrule.   
  
"Yes... princess..." he looked down, "I was too late to save her."  
  
"I... I... I..." and her eyes rolled to the back of her head once again. The perfect symbol of princess. She couldn't take blood or violence for that matter.   
  
Kasuto quickly got to his feet and caught her, although he wished that he wasn't that nice to do such a thing. Oh no... she hit her head on a rock and is now in a 10 yearlong coma! He laughed to himself and laid her down on the beach away from the bodies. Now he would have to tell the King AGAIN about her "frailty" as he called it. But something more had to be done about the skeletons. This wasn't just a matter of the Zoras anymore. The King of Hyrule would have to be notified now, before anyone else was killed.   
  
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This was the third song now that he had Saria in his arms. Mido peeked out of his door every song to see the two together and sulked back into his house. No one even noticed that Mido was gone from the party. Link couldn't seem to let her go and now they weren't even an inch apart. As the party began to slow down and the food and presents were already given out, the night calmed down. Her head rested on his shoulder as they swayed side to side. He secretly kept on smelling her hair and rubbing her back gently. The hero of time couldn't help it at all. His 17 year-old mind took over his 10 year-old body.   
  
The party went on like this for hours. But slowly, as the night crept on, the stars started to disappear. No one noticed this of course. In fact, no one did notice until the moon disappeared from the night sky. Their one 'light bulb' next to the bon fire was gone. A panic struck the party as they kept on looking up. This didn't affect the couple at all until the music stopped. When all the stars were gone, that was it. The party was over.   
  
"Link... what's going on?" Saria even had a little panic in her voice, "I've never seen anything like this before! Why did the stars disappear?"  
  
"I'm not....WHOA!!!!" Link suddenly held on to Saria very tightly.  
  
The ground shook fiercely as thunder from the sky hit the forest floor. And in less than a minute the sky began lighting up, with lightning. The thunder became more intense, and all of the kids were screaming for dear life now. No one but Link had ever seen a thunderstorm before and now all of the kids would experience their first.   
  
"Li... Link?" Saria whimpered, holding on to Link as well, "can we... go inside please?"  
  
"Yes... let's go now," Link looked to everyone who were still running around in a panic, "It's just water everyone! Just inside and you'll be safe, I promise!"  
  
Suddenly, a large bolt of lightning came down near the village, in the Deku tree's meadow. By now, everyone but Link and Saria were in their houses as the two of them made sure everyone got in safely. Link stopped in his tracks and looked up at the leaves of his adopted father; they were burning. He started to run to the entrance of the meadow when another scream came to his ears.   
  
It was Saria now. She was on her knees, holding her hands to her chest as if her heart was about to burst out. Quickly glancing to the fire and then back to Saria, Link sprinted back to his best friend, knowing he couldn't leave her behind in the rain.  
  
"Saria!" He came up and knelt to her, obviously concerned, "What's wrong? Saria, please answer me!"  
  
"The Great Deku Tree..." Saria struggled to speak, "I can feel it... he's being attacked by more than lightning and fire... its..."  
  
She screamed out in unreal pain as another lightning bolt struck in the Great Deku Tree's meadow. Then, the world turned black for her. Saria slumped over in Link's arms, a sigh coming from her mouth as she landed on him.   
  
"Saria...? SARIA!" Link desperately shook her, "What's wrong Saria! Oh... man... please wake up!!!"  
  
Sniffling slightly he picked up her unconscious body and quickly got her into bed, figuring he'd deal with one thing at a time. Thankfully she was still breathing, but nothing had ever effected her this much to cause her to pass out. Knowing he didn't have much time, he grabbed her blanket and placed it softly over her shoulders.  
  
"Please be okay, Saria..." Link whispered in her ear, petting her hair behind her ears gently, "I'll be back in a couple of minutes, just hang tight for now."  
  
Before leaving her, the hero of time brushed her bangs away from her forehead and planted a small kiss onto it. His conern was rising as her face began to pale up quickly, but with the Deku tree in real danger, he had to leave soon. Link jumped up to his tree house and grabbed the Kokiri sword, taking Saria's words into careful consideration. She always had a higher perception of the spirits in the forest and almost a direct connection with the Deku Tree. If something else were there with the Great Deku Tree, she would know.   
  
As he looked down at the Kokiri sword, a weird sense came over him. As if he knew that whoever was with the Deku tree was more powerful than the Kokiri sword and him could handle, he picked up the last thing that could help him, his last resort of course... the Fierce Deity's mask.   
  
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The hero of time stood in front of the blazing tree with the Kokiri sword in one hand and a Deku shield in the other. His adopted father didn't move a bit, but the flames igniting from the dry leaves on him made him more lively than ever. As Link tried to approach the tree further, something happened to the Deku tree.  
  
The fire, which seemed pretty natural, bounced off his branches onto the ground. They started taking forms... shapes of monsters and beasts alike. Wolfos, Keese, and other monsters Link immediately recognized appeared in flames before his very eyes. This fire was very much alive, Link now knew, and not in the way that he thought previously. Saria was right, there was something more than the fire and lightning. It was an entity all of its own.   
  
Taking a defensive stance, Link prepared to fight all of them. He remembered all of their weaknesses from the information Navi used to give him all the time. 'I'll make you proud...' he thought to himself as Navi's form popped into his mind. Tossing off the Deku shield, knowing it would be useless against fire, the hero of time narrowed his eyes and grinned. The fighting spirit he had in Termina came back, and once again he knew he would prove why he was the hero of time.  
  
Cocky and well trained, Link jumped into the fray in an instant. He immediately went for the Flaming Wolfos, who was the biggest and deadliest threat he could see. The fire keese continually flew around him and the Deku baba couldn't even get close enough to hit him, even though they tried repeatedly. Slash after slash, Link seemed to be winning, no contest. None of the monsters could touch him. They wouldn't die though either, and Link started to doubt how long his endurance would last him. After all, he didn't have the muscular body he did when he was 17. The fire from the branches kept on producing more, more deadlier beasts that came after Link as quickly as he took one down.  
  
When the fire had completely left the Deku Tree's branches, a huge flaming wall of fire beasts surround Link. He kept turning around, waiting for an attack, but nothing came. The monsters slowly started to become one. And in a matter of minutes, a huge fiery bird emerged. Link knew then, that his ten year-old body couldn't handle this alone.   
  
Gripping the sword tightly, Link charged for the bird. Using a little warrior's intuition, he tried to assume that the bird's head was its weak point. But hitting that point seemed impossible. No other point would work either. He didn't have any exterior organs or even a small vein to puncture. After about 5 tries and no successful hits, it became painfully obvious that he couldn't touch it.   
  
Slipping his hand into his belt, he unfastened the Fierce Deity's mask from it and held it up. Hopefully, he thought, the results would be the same as in Termina.   
  
The same heart-wrenching scream came from him as he put on the mask as any transforming mask did. His very soul and form disappeared into nothing as a cloud of smoke gathered around Link's agonized body. The bird flew back slightly as the energy from the mask became enormous. As the clouds faded away, a new form to Hyrule stood before the Great Deku Tree, Ion.   
  
Before the bird could beat its wings to keep it afloat, Ion's double bladed sword ripped through the fire with ease. And faster than Majora's mask went down, so did the bird. Ion slid to a stop and sheathed the sword, grinning.  
  
"Heh... this is boring, THAT was all I had to do..." Ion scowled, "Where's Majora's mask when you need it... at least that took me a minute..."  
  
Ion looked back up at the tree and grinned even further.  
  
"So... you're Link's old man?" Ion tilted his head and crossed his arms around his chest.  
  
"Thou... canst be here, evil one." The Deku tree simply replied.  
  
"Oh I think you're wrong, I'll be here a lot more often," Ion grinned as far as he could, "don't you feel it too, old man?"  
  
"Thy belong in another world, another place...perhaps another time?"  
  
"Well... I guess I was confined in the mask for a reason," Ion coldly turned away from him, "Don't worry, you'll be seeing me a lot more,"  
  
The older-looking, blue-haired Hylian, turned away and started for the exit, laughing.  
  
"And Link's fine, he can see all of this happening," Ion nodded, "I'll return once I get to the green-haired girl's house, he wants to see her."  
  
"You shall not..."  
  
"Succeed? Oh trust me old man, I'm not here to take over Hyrule or even help the ones that will! But the more he depends on me, the further he will slip away from you and this world."  
  
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Author's notes: So here's how I see it, Ion is actually like Majora, an entity. Own personality, can even talk to the one who's wearing its mask, and gives the wearer unseen abilities. Ion will become a big part in later chapters. I'm not too good at battle scenes yet, as you can see. Bigger battles will come though.   
Chapter III: The Foreboding Dream. As every adventure starts, a dream will haunt Zelda and Link. But the sages too? What's with the fading curse, the storm, and the Skeletons anyways? It's only the beginning as the truth comes into play. And the little fairy returns, in a bizarre role. 


	4. Chapter III

It's your favorite author... again. I'm sure you hate reading this, but I hafta get my say out too ya know! Read the reviews for a special note from yours truly.  
Here it is, the next chapter. A little short, but hopefully it gets its point across.  
  
- ^_^  
  
Chapter III: The Foreboding Dream  
  
"Meleeu kita! Meleeu maykita! Asante Mika! Mika nowa!" an old man's voice echoed throughout the walls of a small canyon at the base of Death Mountain.  
  
Almost stepping on his long beard every step of the way, the old man continued his log track upwards. Every Tektite in the area seemed to avoid him as he walked by with his small wooden cane. His ragged lab coat and worn brown shoes trotted along the dirt path slowly, but to the beat of his strange song.  
  
"Meleeu! Meleeu kita! Meleeu! Meleeu maykita! Anisante! Asante! Mika! Mika! Mika!" he stopped and sung out proudly, completely off key.  
  
His song continued until he came across the entrance of the Goron Village, where two Gorons were sitting near the doorway. Laughing, he poked the hood of his lab coat slowly.  
  
"Wake little fairy!" he boasted in his deep voice, "we have work to do, people to meet, and experiments to finish!"  
  
"Hey! Hey! Listen here you little..." the fairy started as she slowly rose from the lab coat's hood.  
  
"No time for complaints!" he pointed the to the entrance, "we've arrived little navigator!"  
  
"That's Navi! Not little navigator!" she cried out, hitting him on the head playfully, "and I would of been asleep but your stupid mumbling kept me awake!"  
  
The pink fairy fluttered by the entrance, sprinkling dust on the two guards before returning to him, nodding. Only a minute later, the guards were heavily asleep. She looked back behind him and saw the most hideous sight she had in a while. A gathering of almost 10 Tektites were crowded behind them, but they seemed caged away like pets. The creatures couldn't approach them one more step.  
  
"Hey! Listen! Doc Profellor!" Navi came face to face with him, "you gonna tell me why those things haven't ripped your old body to shreds yet?"  
  
"My cane, deary!" Profellor explained, "Is producing a frequency in the ground that matches their natural frequency. This resonance, which is what this process is called, forbids their bodies from coming exactly 4 feet from where this stick is!"  
  
"Um.. yeah... right..." Navi flew over to the Tektites and stuck her tongue out at them before returning to the doctor, "what were you singing before anyways?"  
  
"The words of the ancients, my fairy friend, the words of the ancients..." he replied simply.  
  
"I think I've been traveling with you too long..."   
  
Navi had actually been traveling with the Professor since she returned to Hyrule after Link's grand adventure. With orders from the Great Deku tree to pursue her own personal adventure, Navi left for Lake Hylia, which seemed like the easiest place to find that. What she found was a loony doctor and his huge laboratory. There, the man took a great interest in her and began research on creating the greatest experiment of all. All of this experimentation was based on stories she told him from her adventure with Link.  
  
Goron village had relatively no interest points for tourists to see. Not to mention that the royal family placed protection laws on the village so that no Hylian could enter without permission from the family. But with a sleeping guard and a determined mind, Profellor made his way to the village. His goal was to excavate two raw materials from the ground of the village. One rock was just the food the Gorons ate everyday. The rock was known for its nutritional value and its uncanny ability to keep the Gorons full for days. The other material needed was of course the Goron's Ruby. This ruby had the magical output of a Fairy's magic crystal and could make Hyrule castle float in the air... for about 1 second.   
  
Beginning his slow trod yet again, the doctor and Navi entered the village while the powder she sprinkled on the guards still took effect. The first rock would be easy to obtain, but the second one would be a little harder to get off of the leader of the Gorons. Navi claimed to know the exact way to do it. All Profellor needed was a fake note from the royal family and a fairy ocarina.   
  
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Groggily, Link's eyes opened halfway. The night was a total blur for him. In fact, his memory of the entire night only contained two things: Saria and the Fierce Deity's mask. The young Hylian returned to consciousness outside of the Great Deku Tree's meadow and strangely exhausted, made his way back to Saria's home to check up on her. The last thing that happened was that he fell asleep next to her?  
  
'Then why I am...?' Link thought to himself as he glanced around. He was still in the Kokiri forest but the trees were different. They were completely black from the leaves to the branches and even the trunk. And from what he could see, Link was nowhere near the Kokiri village. Instead he seemed to be as deep as he was before he entered Termina. As he looked up, the sky was lit up with stars and the lone moon. They were in fact the only reason he could still see.   
  
"I might as well figure out where I am," Link told himself as he shakily got up to his feet. As he did, though, a large clatter was heard right below him. He looked down only to find one thing his never wanted to see again. The legendary blade of the hero of time. The Master Sword.  
  
"H...h...e...l...p....u...s...." a cry came from all around him, "pppp....lll.... .e...e...e...a...s...s...e...ee..."  
  
Looking up away from the sword, around 20 of the Kokiri from the village surrounded him suddenly. They were all crying hysterically and seemed to be in an intense amount of pain. One lone Kokiri boy strode up to Link and fell to his knees in front of him. It was Mido. The young Kokiri that once taunted him constantly was at his feet. But Link knew very well that it was serious.  
  
"Mido? What's wrong? Where's everyone else?" then a painful realization came to him and he started to panic, "Mido... where's Saria?"   
  
"My... hands... Link..." Mido managed to stutter as he lifted his hands from the ground. His shaking hands were disappearing slowly... and were replaced by the hands of a Skeleton's.   
  
Once Link looked up, it wasn't just Mido's body anymore. All of the Kokiri were slowly turning into Skeletons. But it was much different than just that. Swords and shields began to materialize in the air and helmets were appearing in front of them. The fairies that once circled their heads lost their magical aura as they dropped to the ground, dead. In a couple horrifying minutes, Link couldn't tell if one of them was Saria, because they all were now Stalfos.   
  
Already panicking, Link went for the Master Sword and attempted to pick it up, but it wouldn't budge. It was way too heavy for him to pick up, but he didn't have the Kokiri sword with him or the Fierce Deity's mask. He was all alone and completely defenseless. And now, the Stalfos started to get their wits about them. Their intelligence grew and the target became quite clear. Once he realized their nature, Link bolted for the other way, leaving the sword behind. He couldn't find fist to sword and the master sword wasn't any use to him as a 10 year old.   
  
He continued to run through the darkness blindly. The stars disappeared as the forest became denser. Looking back, the Stalfos were no longer following him, but when he tried to turn his head around, Link was stopped by a huge wall.   
  
The wall was the Great Deku Tree, or at least what used to be the Great Deku Tree. With a surprised expression on his face, his adopted father looked like petrified wood. Backing up in horror, Link tripped on a twig and fell on his behind. As he continued to stare at the tree with disbelief, a song floated through the air. Saria's song. And it was coming from above the Great Deku tree.   
  
"Hero of time... the one chosen by destiny," a voice, like the song, floated to him. The song stopped when the soft, female voice spoke and a figure stood up in the branches.   
  
"I'm... not the hero of time anymore!" Link shouted out, "I'm too young! I can't even lift the Master sword! Now how do you know Saria's song!"  
  
The woman looked about as short as Link, but her hair went down to her feet. She jumped off of the branch and sailed through the air to the ground. There was no sound, no pain, and she didn't even bend her knees when she landed, despite the fact that she was traveling so fast downwards. Her voice was so mature, but she was as tall as a little kid. He couldn't see anything about her. Her figure itself was shrouded in darkness.  
  
"Hero of time... your end is nigh... as are the sages," she spoke, nodding strangely, "Hyrule shall succumb to the Phantoms..."  
  
"The Phantoms...?" Link started to back away again.  
  
"Yes... the Phantoms of Echoes... we have been released from an ancient seal and all we await is our final release by the one chosen by the Triforce of Power."  
  
"That's impossible! Gannondorf was sealed away in the evil realm by the sages!" Link screamed out, still backing up. He stopped when he hit something behind him again. Figuring it was a tree, he shook it off and continued to look at the woman. The so-called tree grabbed Link by the arms and held him in place and the woman held her hand out and the Master sword materialized in her hand.  
  
"Am I still there...? He... he... he..." a dark, very deep voice whispered in Link's ear.   
  
The hero of time began to struggle immensely out of Gannondorf's grip, but it was futile. The Gerudo had him in his clutches and not even the golden gauntlets could help break him free. Meanwhile, the point of the Master Sword was coming closer and closer to Link's neck.   
  
"Now to say goodbye... hero of time!" the females voice rang out.  
  
A blood-curdling scream escaped from Link's lips as the female figure held the sword back momentarily, then drove it into Link's chest. Just as the tip was about to touch his skin, Link's world faded away into darkness.  
  
'I'm sorry... Saria... Princess Zelda... everyone...'  
  
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With a scream, Link bolted up to a sitting position. Covered with sweat and tears, he panted hard and kept his gaze at a nearby wall. He didn't move anywhere and now he was back in Saria's home. How his last adventure started would start all over again, but this time Navi wasn't there to help him. She was gone forever... or at least until he met her next. He hoped so hard that the Happy Mask Salesman was right about her.   
  
Images of the dreams still haunted his mind and continued to until he felt a soft tap on his leg. In his daze, Link didn't even notice that beside him Saria was there. He eyes softened as he focused on her small frame, but something was wrong. She was tossing and turning frequently and she even sounded like she was crying. Link's eyes widened her whole body started to shake violently and her crying turned into screaming. All of his previous thoughts put behind him, he didn't the first thing he could think of. Link threw his arms around the young girl and positioned her across. Holding onto her shaking form tightly, Link began to rock back and forth, hoping to calm her down soon. If she didn't, he would have to wake her up, but that was a last resort.  
  
As Link was about to wake her up, the shaking subsided and her body attempted to bolt up as his did when he first awoke but Link's hard grip wouldn't allow her to. Saria's eyes fluttered open with tears running down her face.   
  
'Horrible... so... horrible...' she thought to herself as she tried to relax. She had never seen or even heard anything so evil in her life. And the forest? Gone for good? That wasn't ever going to happen... 'the Great Deku Tree will always take care of us...'  
  
"Link..." she whispered sadly, "Please tell me the Deku Tree is alright..."  
  
Link tried to shush her as he slowly combed his hand through her dark green hair. Her body was still shaking so he knew he had to calm her down first.  
  
"He's fine, the thunderstorm is gone too... in fact I think we slept through it," Link whispered to her back, "It's morning already, but its still pretty early."   
  
"Did you see the other thing that was with him last night?" Saria relaxed her head against Link's chest and sighed, talking halfway normal now, "did it... have green skin... and orange... hair?" the words came out shakily and with fear directly behind them. Almost as if she had seen the thing before.  
  
Link immediately looked down at her, surprised.  
  
"No... why do you think that?" Link shakily said, hoping she didn't regain her memory about being a sage yet, especially her memories about the Evil King Gannondorf.  
  
"I had a nightmare..." Saria started off. She told him about the entire nightmare she had. The dark, colorless forest, the petrified Deku tree, the green skinned, orange haired man, a female playing her song... they were all there. And it all ended with a huge sword with a blue hilt and the Triforce symbol on it killing her.  
  
The hero of time's heart completely dropped. She just experienced the same exact dream he had, and for her it had to be about 10 times worse. Link's hold tightened on her as he closed his eyes.  
  
"Link? You had the same dream too... huh?" Saria said matter-of-factly. Somehow talking about the entire experience made her feel better, but the reminder still left her shaking.   
  
"Huh? How's you know, Saria?"  
  
"I can see... it in your eyes..." she yawned out, her full body weight leaning again him.  
  
Link blinked a couple of times to realize that she had tilted her head up and was looking straight at him. He had lost his focus listening to her story and couldn't even gaze straight ahead until she asked that question.   
  
The two agreed that the Great Deku Tree would have to be approached with this and hopefully he could help them find a solution. But for the next hour, Link decided, he wanted to stay right where he was and comfort her a little bit more. Despite her cheerful exterior, Link knew that Saria hid many things from him, including her fear of what this dream might really be. He kept pushing all of his fears into the back of his mind and remained right where he was until she was ready to leave.   
  
Saria, on the other hand, snuggled into Link a bit further and slowly yawned. The nightmare and her past bout of unconsciousness left her body with little sleep. Her eyes drooped back down and within minutes she was back to snoring soundly, just the way Link wanted her.  
  
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Later that day...  
  
"Princess Zelda?" Impa appeared on the outskirts of the castle's courtyard and bowed her head, "May I speak to you a moment?"  
  
The princess looked up slowly. Her vision and mind were clouded with thoughts of the night before; the dream still continued to haunt her. A female figure, Gannondorf... all of them came to her and killed her in her dream. The rest of the day flew by so quickly she didn't even notice she had been sitting in the same spot in the courtyard for over 3 hours.  
  
"Oh, yes Impa!" Zelda tried to perk up as best she could, "What is it?"  
  
Impa's explanation came quick and to the point. Her dreams were exactly the same as Zelda's. She wasn't ready to tell Zelda as quite as fast as the princess told her when she woke her up from the nightmare. The attendant bowed her head again and waited patiently for Zelda's response, which seemed to take forever to come. The young princess was awestruck by the fact that she wasn't the only one to see Gannondorf again.  
  
"I need... to see someone," Zelda stood up, pacing momentarily, "but I won't even have to leave the castle to see him, thank goodness..."  
  
"What are you talking about, Princess Zelda?" Impa asked, terribly confused.  
  
"I need you to get to the Royal library and find me a legend book," Zelda recalled the name from her dream, "I need to know all I can before he arrives."  
  
"Who are you talking about though?"  
  
"I am talking about a hero that will help us if any of this comes true!"  
  
"And what legend book am I searching for?"  
  
"The legend of the Phantoms of Echoes."  
  
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Next up: Chapter IV: Sidetracked  
Link's next adventure is underway... starting off at Hyrule Castle. But mysterious forces won't allow him to even reach Lon Lon ranch before being trapped between the water and a lot of Skeletons. 


	5. Chapter IV

Writers Block... you authors know how it is... I split up my original plans of chapter 4 just to get it out... so the whole thing you read about in chapter 3 isn't going to happen til chapter 5. Chapter 5 should be up soon!   
- ^_^  
  
Chapter IV: The smallest goodbye...  
  
As grandiose as ever, the Great Deku Tree's meadow was bright and cheerful in the daytime. Rays of golden light sifting through the large leaves touched the dark, green grass ever so slightly. This mystical effect made it seem like the forest spirits floating around the area were sparkling like the Great Fairies. None of this mattered to Link though, because the sunlight made only one thing stand out to him, Saria's sapphire eyes.  
  
Link and Saria sat patiently as the Great Deku Tree told his tale of Link's origins and why he never had a fairy. Very patiently, the hero of time tried to focus in on the story, even though he already knew all of it was true. The Great Deku tree decided that Link deserved to know before he headed out to find out the source of his and Saria's dreams. Although he couldn't give any information at all about the dream or the so-called 'Phantoms of echoes', he told Link the way to the person who would know and gave him the initiative to do it.  
  
"I... don't get any of this," Saria shook her head sadly, "why didn't you tell us earlier?"  
  
"Thou hast knowledge of this... thy knew it in thy heart," the Great Deku Tree responded.  
  
"What are you talking about, Great Deku tree?" Link stood up, pretending to be outraged, "I didn't have a clue about this! I had a right to know!"  
  
"We all had a right to know," Saria stood beside Link, who nodded in agreement.  
  
"Such fierceness in thy voice shalt not be allowed," spoke the Deku tree, "a mistake, it is then."  
  
"Sorry Great Deku Tree," they both lowered their heads and whispered. Link, especially, didn't want to yell at him because he knew he was right. Throughout the entire story, Link acted in total bewilderment, like he never knew he could leave the forest whenever he pleased or he was really a Kokiri, not a Hylian. But deceiving Saria was the worst thing he could possibly do to a person. He hoped his adopted father would understand that, but the realization slowly hit him that not even he remembered Link's journey into the future.  
  
Not having a clue what was going on, Saria tried her best to be understanding towards Link's feelings and the Deku tree's feelings as well. Of course when it came up to the fact that Link would have to visit this "princess of destiny," she just nodded slowly, wishing with her heart and soul that there was a way she could come. But, being a Kokiri, Saria knew this was impossible. As everything began to hit her, her emotions broke free of their barriers.  
  
Thinking of the forest girl beside him, he looked over to find his pale-faced friend teary-eyed. Still tired from the hectic night before, the young girl's emotions weren't in check at all and the very thought of Link leaving the forest left her ready to cry, he assumed. In the duration of the story, Saria was sniffling the whole way through it because she knew what it meant. The forest girl, though, wouldn't allow Link to see her crying and covered it up as much as possible.  
  
"Saria... are you alright?" Link's concern cooled down his infuriated state.  
  
"I'm... fi... no I can't lie to you, Link," Saria looked towards the ground, messing with a few blades of grass, "I think I'm going to go think about all of this for a while, you should probably get ready anyways, right?"   
  
This just made Link feel even worse. 'I can't lie to you, Link' The words kept repeating over and over in his head until his eyes were fixed in a gazed stare at the sky and his body began to shudder lightly. Everything he was thinking about faded and the only thing on his mind were those six words. Snapping him back to reality, Saria shook his shoulders lightly and fixed her eyes on him.   
  
"Link? Did you hear me?" Saria shook him lightly again, "I'll be at my usual place if you need help getting ready, alright?"  
  
He snapped back to attention and looked at her with partial panic in his eyes.  
  
"Your usual place?" Link remembered all of the monsters he had to fight just to get to her the first time he wanted to see her, "Please be careful, alright?"  
  
Hesitantly making her way to the exit of the Great Deku Tree's meadow, she glanced back at him, fake smile in all.   
  
"Aren't I always?" she winked at him before disappearing into the shadows of the trees near the exit.  
  
Forcing a fake smile as well, Link waved cheerfully and nodded. There must be something about her if she's never attacked by any of the things in the sacred forest meadow. Well... there IS something about her, he laughed to himself thinking of the first time he saw her in the chamber of sages and how surprised he was. Even though, somewhere in his mind, when Sheik told him that the sage was a girl, he knew.   
  
Link shook his head repeatedly, trying to get the images out of his mind. There was no way he wanted to put Saria in that kind of danger ever again. He didn't want her to become a sage or for Hyrule to be in any danger again and secretly hoped that their dreams were just coincidence.   
  
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"Please don't ride out too far, honey!" Talon yelled to his daughter, who was currently taking their best horse out for a trot in the Hyrule field.  
  
Letting her fiery red hair flow behind her as if it were coming out of a flame shooter, Malon simply waved to her father and nodded, even though she knew he couldn't see her do so from such a far distance. Already her father seemed like a small speck to her and how his voice got out so far was a mystery to her. As she rode out further, a disturbing scene caught her eye.   
  
Two white Wolfos were running, scared, away from two simple Stalfos. Although it was strange enough that the Stalfos would be out in the open daylight, usually a Wolfos was scared of nothing.   
  
Of course, the Stalfos DID look much different that normal ones. Their helmets were a glimmering gold, as were their swords, shields and chest plates. These were supped up Stalfos, she thought to herself as she kept her horse to a slow trot, nearing the situation at hand.   
  
Just as Malon was about to turn back and read for the ranch, a small grass mouse scurried by Epona's feet. This immediately scared her and made Epona jump up to her hind legs. Without a proper grip on Epona, Malon fell back and landed on the ground hard, which knocked the wind out of her. When she sat up, coughing her lungs out, she had just enough time to notice her "faithful" horse sprinting off into the horizon and two agitated Stalfos heading her way.  
  
Struggling to move, but frozen in pure fear, Malon's eyes grew several inches wider than usual and her voice quivered. With each approaching step, she felt her end getting closer and closer. Once she felt the bony skeleton hand touch her bare shoulder, she let out a blood-curdling scream, hoping it would reach anyone's ears.  
  
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It was now exactly two hours after he left the forest...  
  
Hyrule field looked exactly the same to him as it did when he first went out. The sun glided through the sky as if it were moved by a chariot and the grass swayed together in a sacred melody only the wind knew. And endless prairie of grass delayed only by the ranch on the horizon. Beyond that was his true destination, the place where everything would start once again... Hyrule Castle. Closely advancing forward, the castle was the last thing on his mind though.   
  
The melody of the wind took a sharp turn when his mind changed it unconsciously. The grass began to move to a different melody in his eyes... Saria's song. As if his memories forcefully came up to haunt him, Link stopped in dead step. His green-haired friend simply wouldn't leave his mind... or his heart. Closing his eyes, he could see it all again, in fact, he could even feel the same things he felt just two hours ago...  
  
The same floaty feeling that came over Link when he saw Zelda in the sacred realm happened again. This time to a person he'd least expect it to.  
  
But as the rays of sunlight unhindered by the trees hit the balcony of the closed off temple, they created an aura around Saria as she played her ocarina. For some reason, she had abandoned her usual tree stump and came to play near the temple, a place she always felt comfortable about. Link knew exactly why and he hoped that Saria never found out.  
  
Now more than ever, the childhood friend he grew up with seemed more beautiful with every step he took towards the temple. The way her head swayed ever so slightly to the beat of her song, the graceful moves of her fingers, and loose strands of her hair flying wild in the small breeze captured Link's heart and took his breath away. Every little thing he never noticed before became so apparent to him. While he unconsciously trekked towards her, the only thing going through his mind was why he was leaving her now.  
  
Silence hit the meadow as Link's hesitant movements caused a stir in the forest spirits, lulling Saria out of her usual melody and forcing her to look up. Despite her heart being emerged in that one song, she could always tell when Link was near, not just from the spirits but the gentle waves he emits. The kind of waves that draw you to a person and make you want to be next to do, just to feel the influence stronger.   
  
"Do you always try to creep up on people or is this a new thing?" Saria looked down and smiled at Link the best she could. After all, the thought of him leaving was too fresh on her mind.  
  
"It's gotta be an angel..." Link thought to himself as her sapphire spheres glittered in the sunlight. Everything about her at that moment was so perfect, so grand, that for a moment, Link thought he was looking at one of the Goddesses.  
  
"And now you've taken up staring too?" Saria put her ocarina down and started to get slightly concerned, "Are you alright, Link?"  
  
"I just... came to say goodbye, Saria..." Link came up to the huge tree beside the fallen steps and began to climb slowly. "Hopefully, I'll be at the castle in the next day or so..."  
  
Standing up to face him, Saria stopped Link before he could put one foot on the balcony, leaving him hanging on the tree. She shook her head and looked up at the sky for a moment.  
  
"You know... I knew this day would come," Saria told him.  
  
"You did?" Link attempted to act surprised, even though he had already heard this speech once.  
  
"You were always... different from everyone else, but that's how I knew you were special," Saria blushed.  
  
Link glanced at the ground, blushing too. This wasn't exactly the speech she gave last time. Saria was too shy beforehand to actually admit anything to Link before he left on the quest to stop Gannondorf.  
  
"Saria... I have to leave soon." Link reminded her, trying not to be in anyway cold to her.  
  
"Yes... you have a destiny to begin, right?" Saria turned her head towards Link and closed her eyes, single tear sliding down her cheek.  
  
Not being able to watch a girl cry himself, Link jumped off the tree onto the balcony and wiped her cheek softly. He kept his hand there and continued to stroke her cheek in the same way.  
  
"You know I'll return to see you, after all you're my best friend!" Link truly smiled at her, hoping she would open her eyes, "All I have to do is play your song and the sweetest melody will come to my ears, your voice."  
  
Gasping, Saria opened her eyes to find Link's face about 3 inches from hers. He wasn't acting like... himself, but then again, neither was she. Trying to nod and respond to him, Saria opened her mouth but nothing came out. Surprise took over as she realized something about Link she never knew possible. Link always talked about other girls he had a crush on. He was the corniest hopeless romantic, but the most lovable. And now... her best friend had a crush... on her.  
  
"So please don't cry, Saria," Link stroked her cheek one more time, "just..."  
  
Their faces edged closer and closer together until they were nearly an inch apart. Hanging onto a small pillar near the edge of the balcony with one foot on the tree, Link smiled with a somewhat concerned look on his face. Her brilliant eyes took over him like a witch's spell, but he couldn't do it.   
  
An unseen force stopped him flat in his tracks to kiss his best friend and brought him going to the side of her face and his mouth staying near Saria's ear.  
  
"Just remember... we'll always be friends..." Link whispered before lightly pecking her on the cheek and tilting himself backwards away from her and into the tree.  
  
Thinking she was wrong about the whole crush thing, Saria genuinely smiled at Link and nodded. Her best friend would never change, and that's just what she wanted.  
  
"You're going on a big adventure to Hyrule castle, not me!" Saria giggled, "You should be trying to remember that!"  
  
Link nodded and jumped down, walking backwards towards the exit of the meadow, just like before. His emotions had calmed down with her pleasant tone and he knew what the unseen force was. No matter what he did, the princess was still on his mind.   
  
As a smile slowly crept on his face, Link knew that the person who truly would fall in love with his best friend is going to be head over heels for her until the day they die. As special as she was to him, Link knew the future and his own destiny wouldn't allow them to be together. Not being able to say another word to her, Link turned around and sprinted off towards the Lost Woods. Grinning, Link could only think of one thing.  
  
"Whoever the lucky guy is... he'll have to answer to me first!"  
  
Before he could imagine the swift exit out of the forest, a piercing scream hit his ears with a tremendous force. It was a female shriek coming from the south... towards Lake Hylia. As much as the hero of time didn't want to turn around and get himself involved in others' affairs, his feet and conscience wouldn't let him walk towards the castle. Once the cry was heard again... Link started to recognize the voice. A voice from the past... and around 7 years into the future.  
  
His past caught up with him once again as the second coincidence kicked in. Seeing her before the princess... the voice had to be that of Malon, the ranch maiden from Lon Lon Ranch.   
  
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Yes its short, no I don't care!!! Next up:  
Chapter V: Unusual circumstances: Now its time for Link to fight... with a new friend by his side and old acquaintances behind him. Perhaps the trip to the castle won't be so lonely... if he lives through the day. 


	6. Chapter V

Okay. what made me continue this? I'm not sure. maybe I'll actually get some good reader feedback. or bad, I've not really cared about that for a very long time. I just wanna see more action/adventure Zelda stories that give credit to the sages while keeping good ol' Link the hero and without adding a new character as a love interest for Link! ^_^.  
  
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Chapter V: Unusual Circumstances  
  
His memory shot back to him like a rocket, flooding his mind with faces and the sweet smiles he used to see all the time. Link allowed every vision to flow through clearly, the thought of seeing his old friend taking a smaller precedence over the scream that continued to ring through Hyrule field. Fortunately he didn't have to worry too much, he body was already running towards the scene, moving on its own accord, as if he was used to it. His body cut thru the wind like an arrow, his sword already in hand and in position for a quick strike.  
  
"Let that girl go you rotten scum!!!" cried out a female voice from the south of the action.  
  
Link's view was very small at the moment, but from what he could see there were more than just Malon and her captors. There were 5 Stalfos holding her small form up now as she kicked and screamed bloody murder. Three had come up to their aid almost immediately as if the entire sequence was planned. But to the south of her, two people stood. Well, not just people, they were a little too blue for that. Two child-like Zoras stood there, one with a spear in it's hand and another screaming as it hid behind the other one.  
  
"Princess! I told you to stay in the lake while I checked this out!" the guy shouted behind as a few of the Stalfos broke off of the group to take care of the young Zoras.  
  
"I couldn't let you go alone!" she cried out, hanging onto him now, "You wouldn't have even been there in the first place if it wasn't for me!"  
  
"Yeah." he growled, "You should have been back in the domain, like your father ordered! Not out in the lake trying to get yourself killed by these monsters!"  
  
Kasuto managed to slowly pry Ruto's fingers off of his torso and then pushed her backwards, growling even further, hoping to scare the girl.  
  
"Go. Home. Now."  
  
"But you need me help!"  
  
"You need a life, Princess! Go home!"  
  
With that, she picked up a stick and stood in a defensive position, looking only at the skeletons in front of her. She wasn't going to let some guard tell her what to do. She was going to help, whether the stubborn Zora wanted it or not.  
  
"Damn it! Your father is going to hear about this!" he turned back in time just to see a sword coming right down on him.  
  
As quick as possible, Kasuto barely side-stepped the huge blade and stumbled back. Once he gained his ground again, two swords flew at him this time, but again he managed to slide past each. As he dodged the second one, he brought his spear up into the torso of the first Stalfos. He turned it quickly so that the sides locked onto it's rib cage and yanked as hard as he could. The skeleton's entire midsection came apart, and with it, the rest of the body followed. This action left him pretty vulnerable though, and he could sense the wind of the second's sword coming back for another round.  
  
"KASUTO!!!!" Ruto screamed out as she threw the stick his way, but it missed it's target entirely.  
  
The Zora bodyguard closed his eyes and prepared for the final blow. but it never came. The next sound he heard was the rush of air behind. a boomerang? After that, he could hear Ruto gasp. Looking up, Kasuto saw the nature of her shock. What seemed to be a child was standing a top of the hill, but he was wearing kokiri clothing? The bodyguard shook his head because he knew it couldn't be an actual Kokiri, one of those would already be dead! The child starting running down the hill and charged after the other three Stalfos. In shock, Kasuto stood there he took two of them down with incredible ease, as if he had been doing it his entire life. Once the shock faded, he immediately ran to the side of the child, who was now prepared to strike again, but the Stalfos actually had the intelligence to hold the girl hostage.  
  
"What's going on with these things? They're only supposed to come out at night and usually only attack, not ransom!" Link growled frustrated towards the figure he felt beside him. He tried to lighten his glare when he met Malon's eyes to assure her he was calm enough to get her out of there alive.  
  
"I wish I could tell you, they've been killing Zora in the lake for the last week or so," Kasuto brought his spear up towards the Stalfos, "In the daylight as well."  
  
As if they started to read each other's minds, both began slowly moving in the opposite direction, drawing the attention of the Stalfos off of at least of them for a moment. This was all the time both of them needed. Now following each other's moves, Kasuto slide down and took out the skeleton's legs at the same Link brought his sword up and cut through the bone of the arm holding Malon. She dropped out of his hold just in time to duck as Kasuto's second blow sailed over her head, ripping through its neck area. The skull fell off the body like it wasn't even attached, the gold helmet it wore shattering along with the skull once it hit the ground. Both of them looked confused.  
  
"It was a magic enhancement?" They looked at each other, eyes meeting for the first time in the whole situation, but Link was the first one to speak up, still suspicious, "What's a Zora doing in Hyrule field?"  
  
Kasuto quickly glanced back to see Ruto, on her knees still in shock, then to the child, "What's a Hylian doing out here dressed as a Kokiri child?"  
  
Meanwhile, Malon stood up between them, dusting herself off like nothing had happened at all. She smiled at both of their faces and blushed like a normal kid. It wasn't every day you had two men come to your rescue after all!  
  
"Um. I know you guys are busy questioning each other, but can I at least show my gratitude for what you did?" She looked at them both innocently.  
  
"Uh. why. yes. I guess. of course!!" Both of them stuttered at once. This was going to be the start of one unusual relationship.  
  
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A huge Goron squinted up at the sun from his point atop of Death Mountain. The entire mountain had been quiet for 3 days straight. As he pounded on a piece of thick metal he was going to make into a wondrous sword one day, the eerie silence got to him. Even the lava flow had slowed down, as if it knew something were up. Biggoron kept his work up though, because he knew he would never meet his personal deadline for the sword if he didn't continue his work. Looking out as he continued, a thick, black cloud was settling itself over the Kokiri forest, something he had never seen before. Usually the forests had perfect weather since their protector, the Great Deku Tree supposedly had magic beyond anyone in Hyrule. His mind wasn't left to wonder too long though.  
  
Only a minute later, a female Goron came running out onto the plot of rocky surface that led to the entrance to the center of the mountain, the lava streams. She started jumping up and down, a rumbling bigger that even her big body could create coming from below. Looking up excitedly at Biggoron, who was rubbing his eyes now, she managed to calm herself down for a moment just to speak.  
  
"Great Biggoron, I bring BIG news from our leader!" She shouted up to him.  
  
"Did you bring my eye drops?" Biggoron asked, rubbing harder as the dust from the ground rose up with each increase in shaking intensity.  
  
"I have something better! Leader Darunia has a boy goron now!"  
  
"What?? Leader Darunia's wife had a child? The labor must have been easy, only 3 sunsets!" He talked softly back down to make sure he didn't blow out her eardrums, "Now, my eye drops!"  
  
"Oh yes, some weird professor pro."  
  
A bony hand tapped on her shoulder as she stopped her words mid-sentence. The professor had already made his way up the mountain and being inside for quite a while, he wanted some fresh air.  
  
"I have brought them my dear Biggoron." As the professor said this, Navi looked at him questionably. first he acted like old buddies with Darunia, now Biggoron? How well known was this guy? As she continued to think, the professor tossed up the eye drops to the huge Goron and looked back at the female, "You may return, the wife needs help and could use more of you down with her!"  
  
The female bowed her head and left almost as quickly and excitedly as she came. Profellor on the other hand, was not to happy bouncing up and down from the mountain's now constant shaking. It wasn't because of a nearby eruption, but of the joyous celebrations that were taking place in Goron City. He took a couple of awkward steps closer to the Goron and looked at the piece of metal in his hands.  
  
"When will it be ready?" The professor asked as the Goron finished squinting his eyes downwards.  
  
"About three more years it should take, this metal is not easy to form as others!"  
  
"I see. well either I or another man of 17 with more eye drops shall return to receive the sword, your payment of course shall be eye drops for life." Navi's eyes instantly lit up.  
  
She started the flutter in his face, crossing her little arms.  
  
"You mean Link right? He's going to come back and get this sword, right?" She frowned as the man ignored her, "Hey! Listen to me, old man!"  
  
Profellor shook his head and turned away, not paying attention to his little friend. As they began to walk away, without a good bye to the Goron as it always was, she still begin to bother him, but he would never answer her, he couldn't. The future would have to take place without her knowledge. This in part because no matter what, she would be placed along side the fates of the most important people in Hyrule. And for the fates to accept her, she had to be ignorant of any situation.  
  
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small red stone. not just any stone, but the Goron's Ruby. He had no problem asking for the spiritual stone as a stressed out father-to-be was comforting his wife while in labor. The other rock, which was in his bag because of its large side, would have to stay there until its use was needed. Glancing at the shining ruby, he knew that time was slowly running out. He had to retrieve the emerald and the sapphire in a hurry. Profellor looked out to see the village of Kakariko and then the forest itself. The dark cloud lit up every so often, meaning a storm was raging there now. The storm was very localized over the largest tree in the forest. Yes, Hyrule was already starting to crumble to the power of darkness. The biggest magical power was almost about to fall. He smiled to himself for a moment though, despite the pessimistic thoughts. "Good thing the kid remained there."  
  
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A very long talk and 10 gallons of milk in their stomachs, Link, Kasuto, and Ruto all sat down around a small campfire her father built in the middle of the horse's pen. He was so grateful the moment they had returned with his daughter safely that there was a huge party. Well, it was only them, Talon, Malon, and Ingo, but the party was lively enough for a hundred people. They ate huge steaks and got all the milk they wanted for free. Malon had gone to bed a little bit ago and the three of them were offered a place to sleep for the night. If it began to rain, they were told to sleep in the barn, but if not the grass was only provided as pillows for them and the fire for warmth.  
  
Each of them looked out in the night sky, thinking separate issues that were coming upon them. For Link, though, it was a little different. All he could think about was Malon now. It seemed his puberty-ridden mind never left after Princess Zelda returned him to Hyrule as a kid again. This created a force in his head that seemed to jump from girl to girl. Although his feelings were true for Saria, they remained very questionable towards the ranch maiden. Despite the battle and the circumstances it came at, why was a girl all he could think of?  
  
"Hey, weirdo!" Ruto tapped on his shoulder a couple of times, which caused a bit of a jump start. He blankly glanced at the Zora, very glad he never thought about her that way. It helped that her attitude showed no touches of girlish charm. "Kassy was talkin' to you!"  
  
Link shook his head and decided not to answer her at all and just turn to Kasuto, who had the biggest grin on his face. Knowing that the Zora had to face this girl all of the time, the hero of time felt so much pity onto him, but at the same time his tolerance of the girl made him respect him that much more.  
  
"Yea?" He answered back in a casual fashion. After both boys had exchanged stories, they realized together that perhaps the situations they were both in could have been connected. Although the talk about it was scarce due to the presence of the girls, each boy brought up certain issues every so often to keep their minds up about it.  
  
"Didn't you say something about a dream before? Green skin and orange hair right?" Kasuto was still looking up at the stars as he talked.  
  
"Yeah, I had a friend who had the same dream too."  
  
"That's not coincidence is it?" Kasuto spoke again. As he looked over at Ruto, her gaze had strangely turned to the sky too. He knew she had the exactly same dream as well, but she refused to talk about it, even with him.  
  
"Probably not, but there's only on person who will know why we did have it." Link turned his head in the direction of the castle, sighing. "You guys might want to head back to the Domain soon and warn your people of the increasing strength of the skeletons."  
  
Kasuto shook his head for a moment, thinking of all of the dead bodies he already saw due to the Stalfos that were intruding on Zora land.  
  
"No, my mission was to address the Princess of Hyrule as per orders of the King of the Zoras. his daughter was not supposed to be my guest but tagged along anyway."  
  
"I see, she's. um. I mean she seems like the type that would always get in the way." Link laughed slightly but stopped when he saw he was getting no response out of her, probably thinking too hard, "Why would the King send out such a. if you don't mind me saying, young bodyguard to carry out such a task?"  
  
The Zora guardian seemed to get a kick out of this and smirked. He kept thinking that this boy was a little strange, but completely misinformed as well? Even somewhere in that forest, news must have reached!  
  
"The King of Hyrule is out on an important expedition to ensure peace in our land and others." Kasuto looked pretty proudly knowing this information, "Since the princess is only a child of 13, the my King thought it would be less threatening if a younger guardian went to present our case instead of an older one. I am to simply on this mission make her aware of the situation in Lake Hylia and await a response. She will probably debate it with a few elder advisors and then get back to me within a day." He then tried to turn the attention around to Link, not wanted to reveal more than necessary, "Surely this attack on the Deku tree will force the royalty to act soon, right?"  
  
Link already knew the answer to that question. If his intuitions were right, the princess and even Impa shared the same dream that the rest of them did. And if Zelda had the dream, something was definitely up. The other question, next to his curiosities about Malon, in his mind was how Kasuto got the dream. Perhaps it was just a coincidence or the guardian's destiny was tied in with his or Ruto's, but Link could never be sure. All he could worry about was what he saw. The forest gone, the kokiri dying, Gannondorf. There was a name that sent chills down his spine. Could Gannondorf really be plotting something again? He could only wait and find out for himself.  
  
"I suppose it would, I'm not sure how she will react," Link leaned back and started to count the stars mindlessly. As he looked upon the other two, both were already doing the same. Ruto was already asleep, thank the goddesses, and Kasuto seemed to think very much alike with Link, which began to scare him more and more each time they did execute something the same way. "We should get some sleep like the princess has already treated herself to, we have a good long journey to the castle still ahead, this place is only the half-way mark."  
  
"I know that, well good night, Link." Kasuto closed his eyes and began to drift off himself, not wishing to delay his rest any longer than he should.  
  
"Yea, good night, Kasuto."  
  
Slowly, his eyelids grew heavily and sleep took over his battle worn body. Blackness swept over his whole body, making him believe that he was floating into an abyss. But suddenly his body landed. He didn't know how long he had been floating, but dark coating of his surroundings faded in and out. He saw the same exact thing he saw before. Trees. All of them grey, petrified. Yet, it was different. He was in the Sacred Forest Meadow this time. No Gannondorf it seems. but atop the broken balcony of the Forest temple, the woman who was there before returned. The only color in the entire area was her eyes, which were glowing with a strange sapphire blue like color.  
  
Link could see. no he could feel her grinning from there. The woman jumped down and stepped up to Link, holding in her hand the remains of a broken ocarina. the ocarina of time!  
  
Link growled and slowly backed up, drawing whatever sword was equipped on him at the time. He didn't know what it was, but he didn't care either.  
  
"Who. Are. You." Link managed out through clenched teeth.  
  
"I am your demise. your downfall.your route to failure." she smiles and dropped the pieces to the ground, then crushing them on the ground, "The phantoms shall be here when summoned by the one who holds the Triforce of Power, fate will not allow anything else to take place but that."  
  
The woman's long hair began to flow in front of her as she backed up, that smile still biting at Link's ears with the same acid as before. Bringing up one hand. the place seemed to change. growing darker and lifeless with each second.  
  
"This is the future. in seven years."  
  
"No! This can't happen! The sages will.!!" Link couldn't even finish has he voice suddenly vanished.  
  
"The sages will die, one by one, starting with her. and you know who that is."  
  
The woman brought her other hand out and suddenly Saria came into view. on her knees with her head hanging down. Behind her was what seemed to be the woman again. They were both of the balcony.  
  
Seeing this, Link immediately tried to move towards them, but he body now as well as his voice was paralyzed. He was no longer in control of his own dreams. This scared him a lot more anything ever had before.  
  
The woman on top of the balcony held the master sword in her hand, its blade touching Saria's neck gently. The same sapphire eyes were laughing at Link all over again, just like in the last dream. As the master sword swung up, and then back down at the young kokiri's neck, both disappeared. The vision ending as abrupt as it started.  
  
"This is the future. in seven years. that is the time you have to prepare. for the end."  
  
Just like the last dream, Gannondorf's clear laugh echoed in the area.  
  
"And he will be the castor."  
  
Then she looked down at the crushed ocarina.  
  
"And this shall be the key."  
  
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Reader feedback is strongly requested! Flames, praise, I don't care! Please!!!! Chapter VI: The Phantoms of Echoes -- Link, Kasuto, and Ruto are in for the story of their lives when they learn the truth to the mysterious dreams. And possibly the reason for the suddenly outburst in Stalfos activity. do they have an actual, competent leader? 


	7. Chatper VI

I'm still in the process of killing Gannondorf for not knowing about harry potter books and bashing them in my other ficy. after reading Gundam Wing and Final Fantasy 7 fan fiction, I think my writers' block has slowly died down and maybe, just maybe, this story will turn out interesting and make sense. For all those who read my only other fic posted, the next edition will be out in a couple of days.  
  
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Chapter VI: The Phantoms of Echoes  
  
The hero of time jumped up, his blanket flying off of him like a scared bird. Covered in sweat and breathing heavily, he sat there for a moment frozen in shock. His visions from a while ago still fresh in his mind. There was no mistaking it now. he was having a premonition. Finally gaining his senses, he looked down, realizing that he now knew how Zelda had felt 2 years ago when she knew for a fact her dreams were glimpses of the future. When he was younger, he had no idea his dreams had so powerful of a meaning until it was too late. Mentally wiser and more experienced now, his mind's stiff defense system kicked in. It was time to stay focused and take care of the matter at hand, even if it meant going back to see the princess again.  
  
Looking beside him, Ruto was still restlessly asleep, tossing and turning with sweat dripping down her face. Link knew exactly what she was going through and contemplated trying to awake her from the horrible nightmare she was experiencing. As he turned to move, a hand already appeared gently on her shoulder, then softly shook her until she awoke with a gasp, her eyes wide in terror.  
  
Clenching the blankets around her tightly, the Princess of the Zoras glanced desperately over at both of her watchers as if she were expecting something from them. A word of comfort, a reassurance that it were just a dream, even a small "everything was going to be all right" would have sufficed. None would come though, she knew looking into their eyes. They were reflections of her own fear. She was the in the same boat with them, and they had only reached the eye of the hurricane.  
  
"Did you see her?" Ruto asked desperately, wanting to at least talk about it.  
  
"Which one? There were two girls there, not just one." Kasuto helped his princess to a sitting position and scooted close to her so that both of them were facing Link.  
  
The hero of time shook his head repeatedly and sighed. Why was he so worried about a few little dreams? His past adventures were taking a major toll on him as his senses were heightened immensely. No matter how subtle the information. he mind seemed to always turn the well-being of Hyrule. Hearing both of them speak of the dreams so intensely started make him worry even more. What if they felt the same way? More important how could they?  
  
By now, thinking so long had gotten the attention of the two and they glanced upon him. Any contribution, Link thought, maybe just one and they would drop it until he spoke to the princess. At the mentioning of girls in the dream, though, only one person came to his mind.  
  
"Wait. you guys saw Saria too?"  
  
The two Zoras sat wide-eyed at him.  
  
"You know one their names? Who is she? Which one was she? Is she evil? Good?" Questions literally spilled out of both of their mouths  
  
"Of course I know her! Saria is my best friend. she was the small, green- haired Kokiri child you saw probably, but the other woman I know nothing about at all." Link answered matter-of-factly. "She is the nicest and most genuine person I have ever met, not to mention she can't be evil since she's the victim in my dream!"  
  
"The girl in my dream wasn't didn't have green-hair though," Ruto shifted uncomfortably, "It was an older version of Princess Zelda and she was leading a bunch of troops into battle!"  
  
"Wait, are you serious? I didn't see that at all! I was in a strange lava filled temple beside a Goron and a Gerudo woman! There was a red-haired girl there too and she was beside a green skinned man with orange hair!" Kasuto spoke up, confusion covering his voice.  
  
"I saw the green guy too! He was leading the attack of the. skeletons I think they were! Yes, there were skeletons coming after troops!"  
  
"How could we have had three separate dreams all with the same guy? Did you guys hear anything like voices?" It was Link's turn top question them.  
  
"The princess was talking in mine! She said something about preventing the phantoms from coming! Then I heard this weird voice as I felt a hand on my shoulder. Seven years is what it was saying! She said in seven years this would happen!"  
  
"I heard the same as well, Link," Kasuto looked down momentarily, "In seven years, our survival would be challenged. in seven years the mountain will be hers. that's what the red-haired one said."  
  
Link sighed for a moment and looked up, trying to run this all through his head.  
  
"Mine said that in seven years, everything would come to pass. The green- skinned man would be the castor and a blue ocarina would be the key." He had to use terms like those because he was afraid of revealing everything to them at once. Knowledge of the ocarina of time and Gannondorf would give them a lot of suspicions.  
  
All three stood up at once, thinking the same thing as well.  
  
"The princess of Hyrule. she'll know what's going on, right?"  
  
"I don't know, Kasuto, but for the time we should be on our way to the castle," Link started walking towards the entrance, "Our land could be in grave danger. The skeletons, these so-called phantoms, the people in our dreams. This is becoming too much trouble for just us to handle."  
  
A couple of minutes later, everything was packed and ready to go. On the outskirts of the entrance to the ranch, Link stopped for a minute. Dawn had barely broken and it was only a matter of time before their friends at the ranch were starting their morning chores.  
  
"Link? What's the hold up?" Kasuto called out to him, a few feet ahead of Link with Ruto close by.  
  
"I'll catch up, I'm going to. um. check something out first!"  
  
"Alright, grasshopper!"  
  
Growling, Link turned around. All night for some reason, Malon kept on referring to him as that, just like before. Time would never fully change, even if Link wanted it to. She, of course, was the reason he stayed before though. With his nightmares corrupting most of his thoughts, he had forgotten to thank Malon and her family for their hospitality. Maybe, something else would happen to, or at least he hoped it might. Even with his dreams, Malon never left his thoughts. There were times he really hated being a near adult in a child's body.  
  
His thoughts kept on wondering so much, he didn't even notice the ranch maiden right in front of him. She had a worried look on her face.  
  
"You're leaving. so soon?"  
  
"Yes, the sooner we get to the castle, the better off we'll all be."  
  
"Oh I see. well. could I come along? Surely my dad would le."  
  
"No!" Link interrupted her immediately, "I mean. it wouldn't be right!"  
  
"Why not? You already have Princess Ruto! Why can't I come?"  
  
He stopped to think about this for a minute, but couldn't come up with anything.  
  
"You. you just can't!"  
  
"I don't understand."  
  
"Yes, you're right, we already have Princess Ruto. we already have one burden! We don't need another!" He stopped talking right there, his eyes wide now. He couldn't believe he actually said that.  
  
Slowly, water started to form around her eyes. Being insulted by a stranger, she didn't see how it could get any worse! Malon turned away from him, sniffling as tears rolled down her cheeks.  
  
"I'm. I'm not a burden."  
  
"Malon. I didn't mean it like that. really. I'm just frustrated because. I don't want you to get hurt if we run into trouble."  
  
She shook her head repeatedly.  
  
"Why do you care about me so much? We just met yesterday!"  
  
"It. it. it seems like longer to me." Link didn't know any other way to respond. At least he wasn't lying, he figured.  
  
"It really doesn't matter now! Just go on to the castle and meet your princess!" She pretended not to care, she really tried, but in the end Malon couldn't stop herself from sobbing.  
  
Feeling really bad about making her cry, Link took a couple of steps forward to her. His past coming back to mind, he always remembered her as such a strong willed woman at her older ages. Then he remembered one more thing, the actual "link" that brought them together in the first place: Epona. Putting his arms around her waist, he set his face of her left shoulder and began to softly hum Epona's song to her. The melody her mom taught her to call down the horses, and the melody she taught him to bond with Epona.  
  
Although disbelief of his knowledge of the song began to go through her mind, his arms around her seemed so. comforting. Her crying stifled to a mere sniffle, she closed her eyes and let the harmony take her. She too began to hum the song, perfectly in tune as always.  
  
Link couldn't help but smile a moment listening to her. He really liked it where was and the soothing melody perfected the situation. When the song ended, he turned her around in his arms and grinned. As she began to open her mouth to speak, he interrupted her again.  
  
"Don't say it. don't say 'How do you know that song'. okay?" Link gazed into her eyes for a moment, trying to get her to just trust him on this one.  
  
"Will you tell me one day?"  
  
He started thinking again.  
  
"I will if you promise me something?"  
  
"All right."  
  
"I will come back here in five years, when I'm 17 years of age." Link smiled over at the horse's pen, "When I return, I want to borrow the horse that song is named after."  
  
"Why so long?"  
  
"Because I'm afraid." he didn't want to reveal too much, but didn't think he could get around it, "I will be out of shape, I will need to train on a horse. seven years from now something will happen in Hyrule. what it is, I cannot say myself."  
  
"Why don't you just come back after your trip from the castle? We have other horses so you can train early!"  
  
"Please just trust me and do not ask anymore questions." He let go of her and turned away, sighing, "Just remember in 5 years to have that horse ready!"  
  
"Wait!!!"  
  
Malon ran over in front of him, confused and frustrated. She crossed her arms and huffed at him.  
  
"You can't just leave like THAT!"  
  
"How am I supposed to leave?"  
  
"Like THIS."  
  
She boosted herself up on his shoulders and gave him a small peck on the cheek. Then as quickly as she ran after him, she ran into the house, leaving Link just standing there momentarily.  
  
A blush crept over his face as he stood there, jaw dropping in all. A girl. A girl had just kissed him. Willingly. Without him doing a think. Well, there was that kiss with the princess, but he tried for a while to forget about that. Thinking about this, he didn't notice the tapping on his shoulder.  
  
"HEY GRASSHOPPER!!! STILL THERE???" Kasuto shouted into his ear from behind.  
  
Link immediately jumped up, bumped his head on the atmosphere, and came back down. Literally speaking.  
  
"Y. yeah I'm still here, Kasuto." he felt his cheek quickly to make sure it hadn't left him to go get another kiss before he turned to face the Zora, "Let's get going?"  
  
"What? You were giving me hell every time I called you that last night, what's wrong with you?"  
  
"I think one the goddesses just came down and slapped me in the face."  
  
"Did this 'goddess' happen to have red hair?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Hearing this, Kasuto immediately took his arm and started dragging him from that spot.  
  
"Hey! What are you doing?"  
  
"Let's go, before you decide to stay. I told you I would take you to the princess without having to sneak past the guards!"  
  
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"Master."  
  
The pitch-black caverns beneath the land surrounding Lake Hylia. There, a magic spell fooled even the powerful curses of Kokiri Forest. Day was night here. And here was where the Stalfos could escape nature. Escape, only for one true purpose.  
  
Two sets of yellow bright eyes created a dim glow in the narrow pathway where two of the skeletons stood. Neither could see each other's form, and they didn't have to.  
  
"Report."  
  
"We found the bones of the 5 guards in the lower boundaries of the Hylian's field."  
  
"Cause of death?"  
  
"They have the marks the renegade soldiers did. the ones who were clearing out Lake Hylia for us."  
  
"The meddlesome Zora guardians again?"  
  
"No, there were two Zoras there, one male and one female."  
  
"And the Hylian girl?"  
  
"Escaped with the two Zoras. and footprints from what seemed to be a pair of Kokiri boots, child size."  
  
"I see."  
  
"Shall we attack the ranch?"  
  
"No. our forces still lack preparation and numbers."  
  
"And what of the excavation project?"  
  
"Are you questioning me, soldier?"  
  
"No, Lord Stalfos. I would never!"  
  
The wider pair of eyes stepped enough into the light so that the soldier could see them. The form that stood in front of him. was half human, half Stalfos. They could only describe the process as a metamorphosis; in other words, he was once a guinea pig for a laboratory. Nonetheless, the experimentation had given him great intelligence and one very promising side effect. He could open the eyes of other Stalfos; he could give them the soul, only described as a magical life force spark, that the forest had so brutally taken from them. In return for a new life, obedience was the price. And each he had shown the way to, had done that.  
  
But over the years, something was lacking in the mind of the ever-present leader. A man named Gannondorf Dragmire had offered a chance for humanity to him 3 years ago. But his price was the same the one he holds to his men now. Upon thinking for a great while, the half-Stalfos wanted to accept the offer, but before he could, the leader of the Gerudo vanished mysteriously. He send his men all over the world to find them, but no one even knew who the man was, not even the Gerudo themselves. Something had made the king vanish into thin air; his one chance dissipating with Dragmire's memory.  
  
"The project is going as planned. once the statue has been found, it is only a matter of time."  
  
"Please excuse my further questioning master. but. are you positive that we will be able to free him?"  
  
Every skeleton in the land knew the 'project' now. Digging in an uninhabited area of the Gerudo desert, the assigned Stalfos were looking for one thing: a statue. Lord Stalfos only told them what they needed to know about the statue. It was the key to restoring their humanity. This was enough to have legions of skeletons at his feet begging to help him in any way possible. The lord himself did not know much, but from what he was told by a librarian spy in Hyrule castle, the entities of this statue would do his bidding once he brought them to life. All he needed was the object, a special ocarina, and the presence of pure evil to awaken the souls trapped within.  
  
The object and the presence of evil were the easy part. He still did not know how to retrieve the ocarina. At the moment, he didn't even know where it was.  
  
"Yes, if everything continues to go according to plan. the temple of time will open itself to us. with a little help of course."  
  
"The princess?"  
  
"Yes. I remember Dragmire telling me that the girl was easily manipulated by premonitions. I have had the spell castor do just that."  
  
"You mean. you have been putting false premonitions in her dreams?"  
  
"Not false. it is the future if it comes to pass."  
  
"Didn't that same spell castor die though?"  
  
"The spell was out of control, before he died, my elite guards worried of the spell reaching others connected to the princess. Her mind was not easily controlled, and it shouldn't be."  
  
"Why is that, master?"  
  
"I believe that she is more powerful than she leads the people onto, and she knows it."  
  
"I see." the soldier's voice trailed off momentarily, but came back strong, "What of the ranch girl? Do we still need her?"  
  
"Although capturing her was a priority, our 'key' might already be right where I want him and he WILL do what I desire."  
  
"Understood, master!"  
  
"And soldier, your loyalties are always to me, are they not?"  
  
"Yes master!"  
  
"I want you to gather 5 of your most trusted and loyal companions, Dragmire will pose a threat alive after our humanity has been gained. I will need him eliminated as soon as possible."  
  
"It shall be done, master."  
  
"You know what will happen after we kill him."  
  
"The power of the item we are digging out will be used against the protectors of the forests and the land that banished us to the depths of hell. to be precise, master."  
  
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Casually, Ruto walked along the castle path until she reached Link and Kasuto. With accordance to castle rules, only one of them was allowed in to prove their identity to the council. Since the princess of the Zoras was recognized, it was only a matter of time before the three would be meeting with the princess. The only bad thing was, they had to set up an appointment most of the time. Luckily, Princess Zelda's Sheikian attendant was so astonished by Princess Ruto's 'fierceness' in wanting to see the Hylian princess, she ordered the three of them to see her immediately.  
  
Without a word from her part, Ruto grabbed both of their wrists and smiled at the guard before dragging them in.  
  
"Hey wait a minute? What's going on, princess?" Kasuto stumbled to keep up with her.  
  
"We're going to meet her, aren't we?" Link asked curiously as well.  
  
Flashing a grin back to them in her usual mischievous style, Ruto and the others stepped up to the castle and walked in as if they owned the place.  
  
Before walking anymore steps, Impa was right in front of them, her arms crossed. She took and glance at all three of them, then kept them steadily on Link.  
  
"Princess Zelda has requested you to meet you in the courtyard."  
  
"Just me?" Link barely spoke. He forgot about how much she freaked him out the last time she was here.  
  
"No. All of you are to attend the meeting." Impa turned around and pointed to a hallway to their right. "Down the corridor is the gate leading to the outside. Past the garden you will find an archway that will lead you to the courtyard. Be warned, the eyes of the Hylian guard will be on you at all times until you reach the location."  
  
Link's sigh of relief was not unnoticed, but unwelcome as well to the Shiekian. For now, though, she kept silent.  
  
"That's all fine and stuff. but why don't you just lead us there?" Kasuto arched a brow, obviously confused by her instructions already.  
  
"I will be there in moments time, young Zora. I am going to the library to gather the needed materials for our session."  
  
Ruto grabbed both of their arms again, which she had reluctantly let go seeing the scary Shiekian.  
  
"No sense, complaining guys, don't worry I know where this place is at by heart!"  
  
The trip only lasted around a minute to actually reach the courtyard. Ruto and Kasuto both sped up their pace just to leave the sickening death glares from the Hylian guardsmen. But Link was too enveloped in thought to care much. After all, his last meeting with the princess did not turn out as well as he wanted it to. In her presence, he felt vulnerable, weak; a feeling he couldn't shake after the very first time they met.  
  
One step into the heavily flowered courtyard, and it was déjà vu. She was there. as young and beautiful as ever, gazing at the sky from her position perched on the small staircase leading to the stained glass window separating the courtyard from the throne room. Her crystalline blue eyes entranced him the moment he saw her, again. Link couldn't fathom the countless amount of emotions that hit him right then and stopped him from going any further. Saving the world or meeting the girl you turned down again? Somehow the latter did not sound appealing to him.  
  
"Link!!" Ruto tugged on his arm a little, "You can't just keep a princess waiting like this! She doesn't have all day!"  
  
"I'm coming!! I'm come." Right then, Zelda looked down at her guests, a smile creeping over her face as she saw at them. Link's eyes caught onto her glance as well and he suddenly became a robot, walking towards her as though some unseen force was telling him to. ".ing."  
  
The princess of Hyrule stood to greet her guests modestly. Brushing her golden blond hair behind her shoulders, she nodded as if to tell them to approach her. Zelda's hands fell to her lap, held together as to not shown the nervousness she was feeling right now.  
  
"Welcome to Hyrule castle. I hope your trip was here was as safe as possible?" Okay. so it wasn't the greeting Link received last time. Maybe she was putting a show on for Ruto and Kasuto. Or maybe she was putting a wall up to hide her feelings from him. Either way, he wasn't very concerned; it was her decision to how their meeting would continue.  
  
Ruto stepped up to the plate, ahead of the men. Her training at handling such situations was only starting at the Domain, but she could improvise. She wasn't exactly supposed to be here anyway, so she figured she might as well help as much as possible.  
  
"Yes, our journey was flawless, Princess Zelda," Ruto bowed her head to the princess, smiling in what looked to be gratitude, "Thank you for your concern."  
  
Smiling at the Zora princess, Zelda's gaze started to wonder from Link to Kasuto. The one she didn't know had a look of surprise on his face from Ruto's reply. She suppressed a smile knowing Ruto's bodyguards probably knew her real personality, not the one she showed at times like these. Link, on the other hand, was intently looking at her, as if he wanted to be addressed by her. Turning back to Ruto, she declined from her original intention to talk to him next. It was better left to talk to another Princess than a guy she had to pretend she barely knew.  
  
"Princess Ruto of Zoras, would you be so kind as to introduce me to your companions?"  
  
"At your request, my lady," Ruto turned to Kasuto first, motioning for him to step up, "This is my bodyguard, a member of the elite Zora division who guard your waters diligently." As she said this, Kasuto knelt by the princess at bowed his head.  
  
"I am at your service, Lady Zelda." the bodyguard and Zelda herself both knew he could not refer to her as his princess in a strict situation at this. Both knew where his loyalties stayed.  
  
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Kasuto," She smiled in understanding as he stood up and took his place next to Ruto again.  
  
Once Kasuto was settled, Ruto looked over to Link, who was sweating beads now. She patted him on the shoulder and took a glance at Zelda. A glare of familiarity took Ruto by surprise but was dismissed quickly by her sense of duty.  
  
"This is Link, he is member of the Kokiri race that lives deep within Hyrule's protective forest boarder," Ruto pushed Link gently towards the princess, "He has come here on request of the Great Deku Tree and met up with us along the way."  
  
The hero of time didn't bow to her but instead smiled shyly. He couldn't hold it in. even in front of Ruto and Kasuto.  
  
"It's been a long time, hasn't it?"  
  
"No. I would imagine a few weeks since our last meeting."  
  
The two Zoras' jaws dropped. Both of them immediately stepped up to question them, but just as they did, Impa entered the courtyard, a stack of books held carefully in her hands.  
  
"Am I interrupting, princess?"  
  
"Not at all, Impa," Zelda smiled upon the two Zoras again, trying to give them a reassuring gaze, "Please hand each of the books to them, I will explain as they look them over."  
  
Once they all were settled, sitting on the soft grass of the courtyard, Zelda allowed them five minutes to look the books over. The only reason Ruto and Kasuto agreed to it was because she promised them answers in due time.  
  
"Are you ready to ask questions now? I am sure you have many." Zelda interrupted their readings, seeing each of their faces light up on more than one occasion.  
  
"I will start, if that is all right with you, lady Zelda?" Kasuto asked.  
  
She nodded and moved her attention to solely him.  
  
"I think my first question is what all of us are thinking right now," He looked down, "You had a dream too, didn't you?"  
  
"Yes, Kasuto, you are right. I was and still am plagued by the premonition of an evil coming to Hyrule so great, it will throw our land into war."  
  
"All three of us had dreams too. but ours were all different."  
  
"Different? How so?"  
  
Kasuto looked through the pages and turned the book to her.  
  
"I saw this woman in my dreams, the one with the red hair. Princess Ruto and Link saw no such woman in theirs." He closed the book and set it down beside him, "I am curious to what your dream held, if you do not mind me asking. And I would also like to know what these books have to do with our dreams."  
  
Sighing, the princess looked down herself, contemplating just how much to tell them. All would be best, she assumed, figuring any less would bring an onslaught of questions she would have to answer concerning parts she left out.  
  
"The castle was being destroyed by a man I know as Gannondorf Dragmire, an evil man who is in legends supposed to be locked up in the Evil realm by the Seven sages of Hyrule," She took in a small sigh, trying to collect her thoughts, "But it was not his eyes. His eyes were black, controlled by another. May I see your book for a moment?" She flipped through the pages after receiving the book gingerly, "This woman, the one they call Eclipse, was his 'master' I believe."  
  
"I saw the same woman in my dreams." Link was looking at the same page as they spoke, "She first tried to kill me, calling herself a phantom of echoes, and then the second time I had a dream, she killed someone else."  
  
"She is one of them, according to the legends. The red haired one, known as Lynn X, is another one of them." Zelda flipped through the pages again, "Let me answer your second question Kasuto. these books are all the knowledge of the phantoms we have. If these dreams do come true, we will have a major problem on our hands, won't we?"  
  
"Wait, if these phantoms are in the legend books, then that means they have come out before," Ruto asked matter-of-factly, "So we'll be able to take care of them easily right?"  
  
Zelda simply shook her head.  
  
"I'm afraid not. You see, the only way to defeat them, has two parts to it." The princess of Hyrule looked directly at Link now, "I would rather prevent the catastrophe than go through it though. I already have a failsafe in place at the moment. At the moment, all three spiritual stones are being collected, the ocarina of time is safe within these castle walls, and we now have the hero of time in our presence. I no longer believe there is any need to worry."  
  
"The hero. of time is here?" Ruto and Kasuto both whispered before looking over at Link disbelieving. They both were quite surprised as he let out a small smile, shrugging. He knew he was the hero of time already.  
  
"Why didn't you tell us?" Ruto asked first, breaking out of the shock before Kasuto did.  
  
"You can ask him later, but we have bigger problems it seems." Zelda interrupted.  
  
"You said you had no reason to worry though, right Princess?" the Zora Princess responded.  
  
"I wish that was the case, but according to a few of my elite guards, the Statue of Echoes, the prison of the phantoms, has been uncovered by a group of Stalfos. On top of that, the temple of time was recently raided by a few from the same group and they now have the same information we do."  
  
"So they'll be after the stones and the ocarina too?" Link was still flipping through the book but was still listening.  
  
"It doesn't matter, because they don't have you. To gain entrance to the temple of light, where Gannondorf is being held, the master sword would have to be released again. You are the only one who can do it, Link."  
  
"That's why they were trying to capture Malon!"  
  
"The daughter of the owner of Lon Lon ranch?"  
  
"Yes! They were. going to use her to make me release the master sword from the pedestal!"  
  
Meanwhile, Kasuto looked like he was about to burst.  
  
"Just wait a minute here!! How do you know you're the hero of time?" Kasuto finally got a few words out, "How do you know is he, princess? How are me and Princess Ruto even connected to this!! I want answers, NOW!"  
  
Zelda and Link's eye met as they contemplated telling the two about his experiences with the Ocarina of Time and Gannondorf. She still had much to tell them about the phantoms, how the past Hylians defeated them, and even about a topic she didn't want to touch quite yet. But, if she didn't have help preventing it from happening, everything that her and Link worked for in the past would be in vain. As she kept thinking about this, their Zora guardian grew impatient.  
  
"I'm serious. I want answers!"  
  
"Alright, I will tell you everything."  
  
"Princess? You can't be serious."  
  
"No, Link, they need to know for this to work. If they have been having the same dreams and met up with you from only what I see as fate, they are involved in this too now. This time, we may not be able to fight the evil off with just the two of us."  
  
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R&R please ^_^. Next chapter: Chapter VII: Spiritual stone racing 


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